Journey
by JustBFree
Summary: Pyro chose to run with Magneto and Mystique after X2, now he must live with the choice he made.
1. Default Chapter

Author's Note: Hiya guys! This is probably the millionth 'what-happens-to-pyro-after-X2' story out there, but I wanted to right my own. Granted, my other stories allude to it, but this one will be more or less centered on him. Fun right? Oh, by the way, does anyone know if we're allowed to write about the actors behind the characters on this site? The funny story I mentioned on my settings has to do with the actors who play characters...I don't want to run the risk of getting kicked off FF.net!  
  
*^*^*^*^*^*^*  
  
The helicopter sliced through the thick gray clouds, boldly announcing its presence. Mystique could do nothing about the noise, so all of the passengers were forced to endure. 'All' of the passengers, not just 'both'. Eric Lehnsherr, perhaps better known as Magneto, removed his helmet and turned around to check on their unexpected guest.   
  
John Allerdyce was slumped in the backseat, asleep. Eric could not blame the boy, he himself had been fighting the strong pull of sleep since the helicopter took to the sky. Creating such a strong counter pulse to the Cerebro wave was a huge effort; Charles's psychic abilities had been amplified to a staggering degree of power by the Cerebro helmet.   
  
It was, however, a satisfying revelation to know that even with Cerebro, he could still overcome Charles's attack.  
  
John and Mystique had not been as fortunate. They had been hit by the wave at full force. Mystique was lucky to have been so near to the eye of the storm, the pulse's strength not as powerful as it was when it reached John.   
  
Eric felt sorry for the boy.   
  
The past few days' events had been overwhelming to say the least. Being attacked by Stryker's soldiers in the middle of the night; the Wolverine being shot right in front of him, which-Magneto estimated- triggered his devastating display on the local police force; Rogue had drained his power, Magneto knew firsthand how weakening that could be; then X-jet nearly crashed, thanks to the Air Force.   
  
And that was only the first day, mind you.  
  
From there, it grew worse. Magneto didn't know how far John had hiked through the snow, but he knew it had to be more than a mile before the Cerebro wave dropped him with its excruciating pulses.   
  
'Poor boy, let him rest'  
  
*^*^*^*^*  
  
John's life is in near constant tumult; the only calm he could find was in his dreams. Here, in the darkness of his mind, there were no classes, no curfews, no rules or restrictions for his imagination.   
  
Here he was free.   
  
He does not reach this point of exhaustion easily or often; but when he does, all he can see is a lone flame, burning against the dark.   
  
In his sleep, he thought that perhaps the past three days had been unreal. He would wake up in a few minutes and go to class, confide in Bobby about the crazy dream. Never having damaged their friendship, never having met Magneto.  
  
"John?" A voice called out to him from far away.  
  
"John?" There it was again.  
  
'Go away' he called back with his mind.  
  
He didn't want to talk, or move or think. He just wanted to rest. He needed to.  
  
A hand clasped his shoulder and shook him awake. John looked up and saw Magneto above him. "Why'd you wake me?" he snapped, none too pleased about the interruption.  
  
Magneto half-smiled at his teenage crankiness. "We couldn't let you sleep all day, there's much to do." Magneto then hauled John out of his chair by the forearm.  
  
Not to hurt the boy, just firmly enough to assert who was in control.   
  
John ran a hand through his hair as he moved past Magneto to look out the window. The helicopter had landed in another forest; the only difference was that it appeared to be mid-autumn, wherever they were.  
  
Magneto left the helicopter, fully expecting John to follow. Which he did, after a moment's hesitation.   
  
He hadn't planned to go with them...suddenly it didn't seem like such a good idea anymore.  
  
What did he really know about this man? Nothing, except that he had gone along with the X-men in the hopes of saving Charles Xavier. Then again, he did try to manipulate him into killing all the humans of the world.  
  
Hmmm...  
  
Magneto had about a twenty-foot head start, and John hurried to catch up. He knew that Magneto wouldn't be pleased if he fell behind and got lost in the woods.   
  
"Hey, hey, Magneto, wait up!" he called.   
  
The older man had stopped in a clearing, awaiting John. "Where are we?" he asked.  
  
"It's difficult to say, we had to pull an emergency landing in this forest, the military had been tracing the helicopter. We are on the outskirts of a town, which Mystique is currently exploring."  
  
"Who's...oh, yeah, the blue chick." John remembered her as being nearly immobile and completely silent on the jet.   
  
Magneto shifted a little and cleared his throat. "Yes...she's checking for a place in which we can stay until I can procure us a transport. However, there are certain obstacles."  
  
"Like what?"  
  
"Like the fact that since his prison break, Eric's face has been flashed across every news channel known to man." Came a voice to John's left.  
  
He turned and saw Mystique emerge from the trees.   
  
Or rather, Logan.   
  
John couldn't help but let out a yelp of surprise and fear as Logan began to melt and transform as "he" came toward them.  
  
John backed up several steps and tripped, leaving him on his back at Magneto's feet.  
  
He had never seen Mystique change before. He knew that she had changed to trick Stryker back at the lake, but she hadn't changed where anyone could've seen.   
  
Magneto had walked with her into the woods, possibly to wish her luck in a more private place, and when he came back to the jet, he was alone.   
  
Magneto cocked his head to the side as he looked down at the boy. Mystique scowled at his fearful behavior.   
  
"You'll get used to it in time John." Magneto said as he gave him a hand standing up.  
  
Mystique rolled her eyes at John's behavior, informing them of the town.   
  
"There are news reports, the townspeople are somewhat aware, but they're more concerned now about Alkali Lake and the possibility that it might flood through here. They know your face, Eric, but if we enter quietly and leave quickly we'll be fine."  
  
*^*^**^**  
  
Mystique checked them into the local Holiday Inn. Magneto and she sharing one room, while John had his own.  
  
He was grateful for the privacy of a room to himself, the bed was soft and he just wanted to sleep.  
  
Problem was, his mind wouldn't rest.  
  
He was afraid of Magneto and Mystique. He didn't know much about either one of them, other than that they were considered the two most dangerous enemies to the X-men, second only to mutant hate groups.  
  
Once they realized that Magneto was holding the jet, all of the X-men were instantly more agitated. To them, Magneto was the personification of everything Xavier feared: he was chaotic, powerful, vengeful and a publicly known danger.   
  
Better to die in a fiery plane crash than to live knowing that it was the hated Magneto who had saved their lives.   
  
John did not share that opinion; Magneto had saved his life twice in the past three days, which was all he needed to know.  
  
But why? Why would a villain bother to help some dumb kid who had run off into the woods by himself?  
  
Surely it wasn't because he was lonely, Magneto had his precious Mystique.  
  
Maybe Magneto was only letting him live so that he could be used later on as a bargaining chip with the X-men.  
  
John snorted-yeah, right! If Magneto wanted a bargaining chip then he should have kidnapped Rogue again. Lord knows she needed more people bending over backward for her.  
  
The X-men might think that he had died in the flood. It'd be a surprise the next time they saw him, alive and well.  
  
That was, 'if' he ever saw them again. He had no idea where he was, or where Magneto planned to take him.   
  
John looked over to the clock, it was almost three in the morning.   
  
'Go to sleep John!' he yelled at himself.   
  
Somewhere between then and sunrise, John's mind obeyed its own command. 


	2. I Think I'm Paranoid

"So, what do you think?"  
  
"About what?"  
  
"Don't be coy, you know what."  
  
Silence.  
  
"The boy."  
  
"I haven't made up my mind yet. He was in training to be one of them, Eric. What if he's downstairs right now, ratting on us to the cops?"  
  
Silence.  
  
"If we're both captured, there would be no rescue."  
  
"I know that, but he could become a valuable asset. He has power, Mystique, you heard the news reports."  
  
"We saw no footage of him, he may not be as powerful as you think."  
  
"Time will tell, but I believe that he could be more powerful than he'd ever imagined."  
  
*^*^*^*^*  
  
"John, wake up, it's tahm ta git on outta here." John rolled over, still sleeping, though no longer peacefully. A high-pitched, overly Southern voice was cutting into a very nice dream.  
  
He was annoyed.  
  
John opened his eyes at started: it was Rogue!  
  
She was sitting on the edge on his bed, grinning at him demurely.  
  
"Rogue, what are you doing here? How did you find me?" he asked. It wasn't possible; she hadn't even known that he had gone with Magneto!  
  
"John, you really must acclimate yourself to her little games." Magneto chided him as he entered the room.   
  
He walked over to Rogue and stroked her cheek with the backs of his fingers before John could find his voice to warn him.  
  
Rogue's power didn't leave Magneto collapsed from weakness on the floor. Which meant that she didn't have the power, which meant she wasn't Rogue.  
  
"Mystique." John said, irritated at her joke.  
  
"The one and only." She replied in her own voice.  
  
He rolled his eyes and got out of bed. She was really starting to creep him out.   
  
"Great, so what now?" he asked Magneto, who was looking out the window. John stood beside him as Mystique changed into a less familiar form.  
  
"Well, if I'm not mistaken, that is our transport." Magneto pointed down to the parking lot; or, more specifically, to the limousine that had just pulled into it.  
  
*^*^*^*^*^*^*  
  
John pocketed his lighter and followed the two adults to the limo that was waiting for them outside the lobby.   
  
He had never ridden in one before, and he had to admit that it sure beat the bus! The seats were comfortable, and there were some crackers and grapes provided, which made for a nutritious if not very filling breakfast.   
  
He sat across from Magneto, who was pouring drinks while Mystique appeared to be checking her e-mail or something on a laptop computer apart from them, on the other end of the limo.   
  
John again felt his uneasiness return. He didn't know where the car was headed, or what the dynamic duo planned to do with him.  
  
Reason and Impulse were arguing in his head.   
  
'Ask him what's going on' Reason suggested.  
  
'No, flame them both and jump out of the car when it stops!' Impulse countered.  
  
'That's ridiculous, they've been pretty tolerant so far, just ask!'  
  
'Don't be stupid, they could be plotting your murder, get out of there now!'  
  
'This car is on the highway, you'd be killed just by jumping out, now ask him!'  
  
Reason won out, which was very fortunate. For all his control over fire, he was just as susceptible to being hit be a car as anyone else.  
  
He shifted a little in his seat, working up the nerve to say something.  
  
"Um...uh, Magneto?"  
  
Looking up from a document that Mystique had handed him, he focused on John.   
  
"Yes?"  
  
"Where are we going?"  
  
"Back to New York."  
  
"Oh, Westchester?"  
  
"No. If you wish to go back to Charles, then there is no way we can accompany you. Mystique and I aren't on the school's guest list."  
  
"Oh. Okay." John considered what Magneto had said. He had said that John could choose to go back to the school, as opposed to what? Staying with them or making it on his own?  
  
"What's in New York?" he asked Magneto.   
  
"Just one of my bases, I suppose you could call it. Have a look." He sorted through the papers at his side until he found what he was looking for.  
  
"Ah, here we are. If memory serves, there is a guest room available for you."  
  
John looked at the picture and couldn't stop the smile that spread across his face. It was a penthouse!  
  
Maybe staying with Magneto and Mystique wouldn't be so bad after all. 


	3. Happy Home

"Home sweet home." Mystique announced as she opened the door to let them in.   
  
John looked around. It wasn't just an apartment; it was a huge, luxurious penthouse. The floors and walls were made of rich, polished wood. There were large windows that overlooked New York in just about every direction. John eyed a set of staircases to his left and found that there were actually several floors to the space.  
  
Wow.  
  
John was speechless, while Magneto and Mystique weren't phased a bit. Then again, this was their house.   
  
"You actually live here?" he asked them.  
  
Mystique had changed back to her natural form, and smiled at him, her white teeth made startlingly bright against the dark blue of her face. "We have to hang our hats somewhere."  
  
"Yeah, but this is huge!"  
  
"And a devil to keep dust-free. But it serves its purpose." Magneto remarked as he moved to look at the view from one of the large windows.  
  
"What purpose?"  
  
Magneto ignored his question. "John, you are free to pick out a room. I'll help you to settle in, but at the moment, Mystique and I have some things to take care of."  
  
John shrugged. "Ok, any room?"  
  
"Yes, any room except the one on the top floor. Off you go." Magneto waved him away with his hand as he and Mystique started towards the other end of the apartment.  
  
John shrugged and went off to explore the rest of the space. He still wasn't sure if he trusted them, but he didn't think he was in any immediate danger. If he was, then why would they offer him a room? But then again, who knew what they might be planning in the future.  
  
Well, he'd deal with that when it came up.  
  
Aimlessly, he wandered the halls. Peeking his head into every door he came upon, he found that most of the penthouse space went to waste. Few of the rooms were furnished, while others appeared as if their doors had never even been opened by the current tenants.   
  
"Weird." John said to himself as he went upstairs to check the rooms there.   
  
Some were unused, but most were fully furnished. John chose a room that had a bed, a dresser, a desk with a computer on it and a television. It had a small balcony that had a great view of Central Park.   
  
Not bad at all, he'd never had such nice things to call his own before. 'Might as well enjoy it while it lasts.' he thought.   
  
But how long would this last? He was sure that Magneto and Mystique didn't bring him here so that they could play house.  
  
He sat on the edge of the bed, not knowing what to do. There was nothing for him to do, he didn't have anywhere to be. Glancing at 'his' desk, he spied a telephone.  
  
*^*^*^*^*^*^  
  
Bobby Drake was worried. Much more worried than he cared to admit.   
  
Despite the relief he felt to learn that all of the other friends he had at Xavier's were safe, he wanted to see John.   
  
The X-men had barely escaped the valley before it flooded, and for a horrible few minutes, Bobby thought that John was still wandering the forest, determined to prove his worth, only to be killed in the icy flood.  
  
To know that John was alive was a blessing, but to know whom he was with was a curse.  
  
He hadn't heard too much of their conversation on the X-jet. It didn't seem very important at the time, but Bobby berated himself now for not seeing it sooner. Magneto was tempting John! Everyone, Rogue included, had warned him about the man's treachery, but Bobby hadn't take it too seriously.   
  
Now he wished he had.  
  
It was no secret that John was generally dissatisfied with life. He, like Bobby and the rest of the school, was forced to keep his power a secret. The school's rules strictly dictate that if one can help it, all powers are not to be used publicly in any way.   
  
The school was the only place John had to go, and if he wanted to stay, he had to keep himself in control. Once that control was removed, however, and John felt threatened enough, he reacted the way only a select few assumed he would: an all-out offensive with his flames.   
  
They had no idea his power could be that destructive! In the past, he reluctantly kept the flames in check, only forming the fire into shapes to show off for the girls of the school. What he did to the kid in the museum was still minor in comparison.   
  
Bobby and Rogue had been horrified to see it in John's face that he was enjoying the attack on the porch.   
  
Magneto must've seen it in him somehow, that thirst for power.   
  
Before she left, Jean had said that John was with Magneto. Once he heard the news, he had tried not to become visibly upset, but his mind invented scene after horrible scene of how Magneto had captured John in the woods, and what they could be doing to him.  
  
-In his mind's eye, he could see John running through the woods as fast as he could to put distance between him and Magneto. But it was no use, because Magneto can fly, and use his power over magnetic fields to capture his friend.  
  
He could see Mystique taking sadistic pleasure in beating and cutting John until he finally relented and told them everything he knew about Xavier's school.-  
  
The idea that John had voluntarily gone with them had never occurred to him.   
  
'God! Why did John have to leave the X-jet?!' he asked himself for the 1000th time.  
  
Bobby glanced over at the ringing phone, and rolled his eyes. 'Probably just a telemarketer.' He thought.   
  
Rolling over on his bed, he pointed at the telephone, and the speaker began to ice over, creating a muffler to the ring.  
  
*^*^*^*^*  
  
John frowned at the receiver. No one picked up in Bobby's room, where was everyone? John knew that the soldiers hadn't captured many of the students, the ones who escaped should have returned by now.  
  
'Probably out with Rogue.' He thought as he hung up.   
  
Sighing, he felt a little disappointed. He wanted to at least let Bobby know that he was still alive.  
  
For how much longer was the real question.   
  
With that thought it mind, John left the room.  
  
Magneto had told him not to go into the room on the top floor, maybe that was where he and Mystique were.  
  
John went up the stairs, and was a little surprised to find that there was only a set of double doors at the top of the stairs, nothing more.   
  
The doors didn't touch the ground on the bottom, leaving a space about half an inch tall. John could see moving shadows on the floor, Magneto and Mystique had to be inside there...unless they weren't as alone as he had thought.  
  
He went up a few more steps, and could hear some voices. Muffled as they were, he could tell the difference between Magneto's commanding bass and Mystique's alluring soprano.  
  
He went up a few more steps, just close enough so that he could hear them more clearly. John wasn't fool enough to go all the way up to the door and press his ear to the wood.  
  
"He knows too much, if he were to go spreading tales about our location or future plans..."  
  
"Don't worry Eric. I'll take care of him. He'll be gone without a trace."  
  
"I'm not worried in the least, I know that you can handle yourself. But accidents can happen."  
  
"I know. They've happened before, but this is different. As powerful as he is, he'll still be caught off guard. Everyone is when I pounce." Mystique declared in an oddly proud voice.  
  
Magneto chuckled low in his throat. "I know I was."  
  
John didn't catch the last comment as he quickly backed down the stairs. He had heard enough.   
  
Magneto and Mystique were plotting to kill him.   
  
Everything the X-men ever told him was true, they were crazy!  
  
'I've got to get the Hell out of here!' he thought frantically, and oddly resisting. He refused to die here, by them. Frankly, he refused to die anytime this week!  
  
They were NOT going to kill him, no way.   
  
John ran down the stairs, and tried to remember the way to the front door. As far as he knew, it was the only exit...unless you counted the windows, but he couldn't fly like some of the other students at Xavier's.   
  
The halls all looked the same to him in his panic and he didn't even know if he was going in the right direction.   
  
'Where is it? Where is it? Where is it?'   
  
Finally, the hall opened into the large center room. John practically dove for the doorknob.   
  
It was locked.  
  
"Going somewhere, Pyro?" 


	4. Dinner Party

Slowly, he turned to face the voice. Magneto and Mystique were standing behind him, in the center of the large room.  
  
John felt his heart leap up into his throat; he was petrified, but also knew that he had to remain composed. If he gave away any hints that he knew what they were planning to do with him, they might attack, and that would be the end of it.  
  
He doubted that he could fight off Mystique even with his flames, and with Magneto there, combat was out of the question.   
  
Mystique's chrome yellow eyes widened as she inclined her head, silently urging him to answer her.   
  
John struggled to find his voice, "Oh, I was just gonna grab us some take-out, you know?"   
  
Magneto nodded and put a hand on John's shoulder, leading him away from the door. "Yes, I imagine you would be hungry. Not to worry, dear boy, we'll have dinner soon."  
  
John barely heard him as he glanced back at the door, which was still locked tight.  
  
*^*^*^*^*^*^*  
  
Under normal circumstances, it would have been okay.  
  
It would have been nice; the word 'pleasant' comes to mind.  
  
Classical music was playing softly in the background; the lights were dimmed for ambiance. The dining room was just as lavish as the rest of the penthouse, the table being one of the longest John had ever seen, and there were fine china plates and crystal glasses before him.  
  
Yes, under normal circumstances it would have been great.  
  
However, Mystique sat across from him, completely naked which was distracting in itself and she was staring right at him. John had a feeling that staring at people was a normal thing for her to do, what with the whole reptilian aspect to her features, but it was still unsettling.  
  
Especially now that he knew what she wanted to do with him.   
  
'I'll take care of him. He'll be gone without a trace.' That's what she had told Magneto.   
  
For some reason, the idea that Magneto was secretly encouraging her to do away with him hurt.   
  
What about all the stuff that Magneto had told him on the jet? Hadn't that meant anything to him? John knew that it did to him; it was the main reason that he had gone with Magneto and Mystique in the first place.   
  
But why save him from the flood, why take him this far, just to kill him? He thought that they would let him come along on their adventures, be a part of their nutty little family.  
  
It hurt John to realize that he had gotten his hopes up for nothing; he had made a terrible mistake. The road he thought would lead to adventure would lead him to an early grave if he weren't careful.  
  
At first he had thought that Magneto was kind of cool, despite all the warnings from the X-men. In a way, him being the 'villain' was a big part of the draw. But John wasn't stupid, he knew that they were dangerous.  
  
He hadn't let himself trust them, and now he knew that he was right not to. They were going to kill him soon if he didn't get away.  
  
John glanced at the swinging door that led to the kitchen, Magneto was still in there. John looked back at Mystique. Maybe if he was quick he could burn her bad enough so that she wouldn't be able to stop him when he ran for it.  
  
Slowly, John brought out his lighter, and got ready to wreath Mystique in flame.  
  
He flipped the lid while keeping his eyes fixed on her. By now, she had noticed his habit of popping the lid open and closed whenever he felt like it. She wouldn't think anything was out of the ordinary if he did it now. He turned the tiny wheel, which struck the flint, sparking the wick.  
  
Mystique's eyes darted from his face to the flame that was dancing in the lighter.   
  
John could feel the throbbing of his heart in his ears, his hand was even shaking a little as he brought it up, preparing to use his power to shove the fire right into her blue face.   
  
John took a deep breath...  
  
...and the lighter flew out of his hand!  
  
"Hey, what?!" he said in confusion.  
  
He saw Magneto walking towards them, with John's lighter making its way through the air and into his hand.  
  
"Sorry John, but there's no smoking at the dinner table." He explained coolly as he took his seat at the head of the table, with Mystique on his right and John on his left.  
  
'Oh God, what if he poisoned the food?!' The thought flitted through his mind, but when he saw Mystique and Magneto begin to eat, he dismissed it.  
  
It seemed he would have to stay there and act as if everything was fine, as if the possibility of his death wasn't minutes away.   
  
He didn't have any other choice.  
  
*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*  
  
John had struggled through his meal; jumping every time someone moved, expecting to be stabbed with a salad fork or something.   
  
No one moved to threaten him, which made him even more nervous.   
  
What were they waiting for?  
  
He knew it would be soon, but pretending not to know what was happening was killing him!  
  
John half-wished that someone would just make a move already so that at least he could go out fighting, rather than remain trapped in the penthouse going crazy.  
  
"John, are you listening?" Magneto asked.  
  
"Huh?"  
  
The older man frowned, "I said, Mystique is leaving tonight. As you may or may not know, she has been masquerading as Senator Kelly for some time,"  
  
"Yeah, I heard something about that a couple of months ago."  
  
"A politician's work is never done, it seems, because she has to leave tonight to participate in a very important debate concerning mutants. She'll be in Boston until tomorrow night."  
  
John nearly choked on his tongue. "So she'll be gone all day?"  
  
"Yes."  
  
"Meaning it'll just be us here tomorrow?"  
  
"Yes."  
  
"Oh Go-I mean, great!...Ah-ah!" John began fake-coughing violently. "I'm sorry, I- Ah-ah! Ah-ah! Excuse me!" he said as he bolted from the table and ran to the nearest hallway.  
  
He ran into a bathroom, choking on the air. 'Oh God, it's Magneto! He's going to kill me tomorrow while she's gone! Oh God, what am I gonna do now? I've got to get out!'  
  
He turned on the water and splashed his face, taking a sip to calm his nerves.  
  
A knock came from the other side of the door, startling him so bad that he jumped backward and knocked the assorted bath things off the counter.  
  
In the hallway, on the other side of the door, Magneto frowned once he heard the commotion from inside the bathroom. "John, is everything all right?" he asked.  
  
"Oh, yeah! I'm fine, don't worry about a thing!" John called back as he quickly replaced everything on the marble surface.  
  
"Are you sure?"  
  
"Totally! I'll be right out!" John called back.  
  
Magneto shrugged and went back to the table. Mystique asked him, "Is he okay?"  
  
"Yes. He's a clever boy, for a moment I actually believed he was choking."  
  
"He knows."  
  
"That's true."  
  
"How much do you think he heard?"  
  
"Enough, as is evidenced tonight," Magneto answered before taking a sip from his wine glass. "But he is in no position to stop us."  
  
Mystique nodded, "Eric, he may try."  
  
Magneto took her hand and brought it to his lips, "Yes, I'm sure he will; but that will only make this more interesting for us." 


	5. Surprise, Surprise

The night closed in on the city below, the encroaching darkness brought no comfort for the young man whose mind was so troubled.  
  
John had gone to bed early, at the insistence of his new 'family'. Magneto suggested that he might be feeling a bit under the weather because of the week's past events catching up with him, and set John to rest.  
  
Physically, John felt okay; but he had a massive headache from all the worries and fear he had. However, he did as he was told and went to his room. He lay down on the bed as evening faded into night, endlessly pondering his situation.  
  
'Okay, the only door out of here is locked up tight so I can't run, Magneto still has my lighter so I can't fight, and it's two against one. Man am I screwed!' he thought in despair.  
  
He looked out the window, night had swallowed the city. It was getting late, every minute that passed brought him closer to his death. He went to his desk and picked up the telephone, fully prepared to crawl on his belly back to Xavier's.  
  
Half way through dialing Bobby's room number, he paused. He thought he heard something outside of his room.  
  
He hung up the phone and listened closely.  
  
There it was again, voices!  
  
He quickly replaced the receiver in its cradle and jumped onto the bed, just in case Mystique decided to check in on him.   
  
John closed his eyes and evened his breathing, hopeing everything would look innocent.   
  
He waited.  
  
No one came to his door.  
  
He waited some more.  
  
Nothing.  
  
John listened closer to the voices. They seemed farther away than they had been moments earlier. That had to mean that Magneto and Mystique were moving around the apartment.  
  
John walked over to his bedroom door and opened it a crack. No one was in the hallway, as the voices became clearer, John realized that they were downstairs.  
  
'Probably planning to kill me again,' he thought as he moved in the shadows.  
  
If they were speaking about it, he could only benefit if he listened, at least this way he'd know what to expect and hopefully have a plan of action at the ready.   
  
John stayed in the shadows close to the top of the staircase that led to his floor of the penthouse as he listened. The dynamic duos' voices were perfectly clear now, and he had a bird's eye view of them in the center room below.  
  
"Aside from the jet lag, I have no complaints." Mystique remarked offhandedly as she looked through a briefcase on the couch.  
  
Magneto smiled a little, "You're only going to Boston, it's not that far. Besides, it couldn't be for a more worthy cause."  
  
"Too true; what will you do with John?" she asked as she stood to face him.  
  
"I haven't decided yet. But rest assured, he will be dealt with tomorrow, before you return."  
  
Mystique moved closer to Magneto and kissed him tenderly on the lips, "That's a relief. Don't get into too much trouble while I'm gone."  
  
Mystique's voice changed from her own into a man's as she stepped back to transform before him, not bothering to stop the conversation. He/she stepped back and spread his/her arms, indicating the sharp black suit Mystique had created from her flesh.  
  
"Well, how do I look?"  
  
Magneto cocked his head to the side in careful consideration of his words. "Very handsome, Senator."  
  
Mystique smiled, "I have to catch my plane. Goodbye Eric, have fun."  
  
Magneto chuckled, "I wouldn't call it fun, but thank you anyway. Have a good time, be careful. I'll see you when you get back."  
  
After a hug, Mystique departed, while Magneto went back upstairs to his room.  
  
One the other side of the apartment, still crouching in his shadowy hiding place, John shuddered. 'I'm doomed.'  
  
*^*^*^*^*^*^*  
  
He remained in the hallway for nearly an hour, thinking about his fate. He realized that it wouldn't help if he called the X-men, he couldn't tell them where he was because he didn't know the address of the building.  
  
The Professor could use the Cerebro to find him, but the X-men might think it was a trap. John didn't want anyone hurt, not the X-men, not Magneto and especially not himself, who could be caught in the crossfire.  
  
There was nothing he could do. He was helpless, the situation was hopeless.  
  
He got up and walked back to his room. Disconnectedly, he climbed into bed.   
  
'Tomorrow. Magneto wants to 'deal' with me tomorrow.' He thought angrily, 'Well. Maybe he'll get a nasty surprise and I'll be the one to deal with him!' 


	6. Guilty Polaroid

John had wanted to stay awake, but it proved to be too difficult a task. As Magneto and Mystique both knew, training yourself to stay awake for days at a time can take months.   
  
Magneto knew that John had heard Mystique and he talking before dinner yesterday and their more recent conversation in the center room. He knew many things, but was curious about John's reaction.   
  
He stared down at the sleeping boy before him, Eric found him to be very interesting. In the short time he'd known him, John had shown great potential, even if he didn't know it yet.   
  
Eric and Mystique had heard the news report of some 'crazed' mutant attacking the local police force, but the media is full of exaggeration, and not to be trusted.   
  
He had only seen John's little display on the jet; he had yet to see what John could really do.   
  
'Time will tell.' He thought.  
  
He glanced at his watch. Yes, the time was drawing near.  
  
"John?" The boy didn't react to his name.  
  
"John, wake up." The boy rolled over, his back now facing Eric.  
  
Obviously, John was more tired than Eric had initially assumed, but today was important, it would test John's loyalty.  
  
"John, wake up right now!" he demanded.  
  
Eric's booming voice shattered the peaceful silence, and John started awake. His eyes came to rest on Eric, and he backed up to the headboard, seemingly scared out of his wits.  
  
Eric was confused at the reaction. "Are you all right?" he asked.  
  
John swallowed once, and closed his eyes for a moment. When he opened them, his entire visage was different.  
  
He was calmer, smoother, and seemed almost indifferent to Eric's unexpected presence. "Yeah, I'm fine. What's going on?"  
  
Eric watched John for a few moments before answering, pondering John's odd behavior. With an inward shrug, he dismissed it as simply being startled.  
  
"Well, it's past noon, and I'd like you to wake up and start the day. Take a shower, get dressed, have some breakfast. Then, come up to the room on the top floor, there's something you I want you to see."  
  
*^*^*^*^*^*^*  
  
Seemingly obedient as a lapdog, John did what Magneto had asked of him. He took a quick shower, changed into clean clothes, and ate breakfast.  
  
He was surprised to find Magneto in his bedroom, but thought that he had recovered quickly enough...then again, Magneto doesn't miss much.  
  
Magneto wanted him to go into the big upstairs room with him; John knew that that would lead to nothing good.   
  
He had an idea.   
  
Magneto still had his lighter, and all John would have to do is ask for it back. Then, he'd give Magneto a full-body 3rd degree burn before the man could even blink.   
  
'Nothing like the old flash-furnace trick.' He thought to himself as he finished his cereal.   
  
Then, while Magneto was out for the count, he'd just waltz downstairs and burn his way through the front door.   
  
By the time Mystique came back, he'd be long gone.   
  
'Man, I gotta be the craftiest mutant alive!' he thought, trying not to smile as he ascended the stairs.  
  
*^*^*^*^**^*  
  
John knocked on the double doors, and could hear Magneto moving things around inside.   
  
"Come in John."   
  
He opened the doors, and felt a natural sense of awe sweep over him at the sight of the room.   
  
Or, more accurately, what lay just beyond it. The interior room was luxurious and beautifully decorated, but what set it apart was the back wall. It was all glass, with a set of doors that led outside to what John considered as one badass backyard.  
  
From what he could see, there was a patio and a pool, all set against the background of New York.  
  
"Whoa." John breathed as he walked further into the room.   
  
"Yes, I imagine you'd like that." Magneto said as he came out of a side room that John assumed was where he and Mystique slept.   
  
"It's pretty cool, is that what you came up here to show me?"  
  
"No, I want you to watch Mystique in her senatorial debate."  
  
"Why?"  
  
"Well, it'd be good for you to understand what we are doing here. Better that you learn now."  
  
"Okay." John said slowly. This wasn't what he had expected at all. But then again, nothing had ever turned out the way he thought it would.  
  
*^*^*^^*^*^*  
  
"Oh, God, make it stop!" John moaned in misery.  
  
Beside him on the couch, Magneto smiled. "John, it's only been twenty minutes."  
  
"Yeah, twenty minutes of the most boring talk ever! I don't get it, how can you still be awake after this?" John asked.  
  
He had not been expecting Magneto to invite him to watch TV beside him, and it was a strange thing. Strange, but in a cool way. He knew that he still had to escape, but as time went on it seemed that there was no threat to watch out for.   
  
John wasn't fooled, he knew Magneto was dangerous, but his gut was telling him that it was safe...for now, anyway.  
  
Magneto ticked an eyebrow at Senator Kelly on the TV screen, "I'm in on the joke. That's Mystique, John, as you already know."  
  
John shrugged, "Yeah, yeah. What are they arguing about now?"  
  
"The same tired issues. In this case, her opponent is pushing for scientific mutant studies."  
  
John scowled, "Sure, turn us all into science projects. I'd like to see them try."  
  
"That is precisely why Mystique went to Boston. This situation will be dealt with before the hour is up. I must admit that she and I went to some great lengths to end the proposition."  
  
John didn't know what Magneto could've meant by that; painfully, he returned his attention to the debate.  
  
15 minutes (but what seemed like 15 hours to John) later...  
  
"I have here, evidence that Mr. Green has already begun the study of mutants for 'scientific' purposes!" Senator Kelly declared.  
  
Magneto sat forward, resting his elbows on his knees as he leaned in closer to catch every detail. John had to admit that this was finally starting to get interesting.   
  
Kelly popped the lid on his/her briefcase and pulled out a handful of Polaroid photos.   
  
"Let's look at the end result of your 'science'."  
  
He held out the pictures, and every news camera in the room instantly zoomed in.   
  
John really wished they hadn't.  
  
In every picture, there was a mutant in a cage, with wired sensors connected to their chests or foreheads. Each figure in the pictures had different appearances, though they were visually united in that they all looked like they had been run over on the highway.  
  
A young man that had a scattering of red scales over his chest and shoulders was missing an arm.  
  
A woman with fully green eyes had a huge bandage covering her head.  
  
A little girl who didn't even have any visible sign of mutation looked more dead than alive.  
  
John felt sick. "Oh, God."  
  
Magneto noticed his reaction. "Don't worry, John. They're all her."  
  
"What?"  
  
"They're all Mystique. I was the one holding the camera."  
  
John turned back to the television, where Mystique's opponent Mr. Green was being taken away by police, yelling out, "I don't know what he's talking about, I've never seen those pictures before in my life! I'm innocent!"  
  
"You see, John, drastic measures must be taken for the greater good. Green may be released from prison, but his reputation is ruined, and those images have been burned into the audience's memory. That proposal will never be accepted now."  
  
John was silent.  
  
"I know that you heard Mystique and I discussing this yesterday, certainly you haven't been shocked into silence over it?"  
  
John stared wide-eyed at Magneto.   
  
'I know that you heard Mystique and I discussing this yesterday...'  
  
"What? You know that I...?"  
  
"Yes, John, of course. I know that you may find our methods dishonest and such, but you must understand, you aren't in Charles's school anymore."  
  
"So, yesterday when you and Mystique were talking, you meant Green?"  
  
"Yes."  
  
"Not me?"  
  
"What?" Magneto asked confusedly.  
  
John put his head in his hands and started laughing. Quietly at first, then louder and almost hysterically as the frustration, fear and anxiety drained out of him.  
  
John was practically rolling off the couch, while Magneto sat beside him wondering if the boy had gone mad.  
  
John looked at Magneto, who stared back curiously, and cracked up all over again.   
  
Magneto rolled his eyes and got off the couch to find the remote control. "You silly child, what has gotten into you?" he asked as he sat back down next to him.  
  
"No, it's just...I thought you were talking about me."  
  
Magneto gave him an odd look.  
  
"I thought that you and Mystique were planning to kill me! And I've been going crazy, waiting for an attack!"  
  
John was now laughing so hard that his eyes were watering up.   
  
Magneto did not find this revelation amusing. "You thought that Mystique and I were planning to kill you?" he asked incredulously.   
  
"Yeah." John said between giggles.  
  
"John, honestly, what kind of nonsense has Charles and his X-men been filling your head with?"  
  
John finally got control of himself. "No, it's just what I heard..."  
  
"John, I may kill out of necessity, but killing a young fellow mutant is hardly my idea of fun. Mystique and I saved you from the flood because at that moment we had the power to save a life, rather than leave you to die. We brought you here because we thought you had potential, not so we could hurt you."  
  
John nodded, "Dude, just try to see things from my point of view, ok? I barely know either one of you, and then I'm hearing, 'I'll take care of him, he'll be gone without a trace.'? What would you think?" he asked.  
  
Magneto leveled his gaze on John, who was surprised when the older man before him began to laugh. It wasn't loud, or anywhere near hysterical, it was a low chuckle that escaped his lips.  
  
"Well, when you put it that way, I see your point," he said, "John, Mystique and I mean you no harm. We want you to stay here with us, but not if it is against your will."  
  
John ran a hand through his hair. "That's a relief. I was having dreams all night about getting skewered by a crowbar."  
  
Magneto frowned. "Not my style. But that's beside the point. We aren't going to hurt you John, and you can still stay here, but only if you feel secure."  
  
John nodded. "I do. Aside from our little misunderstanding, I'll stay as long as I'm welcome. By the way, I'm totally cool with the underhanded methods for ruining threats to mutants. If we don't, then who will?"  
  
"So, we understand each other now, yes?"  
  
"Yeah, sure." John said.  
  
Magneto held out his hand, and John eagerly shook it.  
  
Together, they settled back in to watch the rest of Senator Kelly's speech. 


	7. Homecoming

So it went, Mystique returned from Boston to learn of the true reasons behind John's previous behavior, and shared a laugh with them about it.   
  
She and Eric 'celebrated' their victory over Alec Green.   
  
John's tension evaporated completely within days, and he became part of the team. He enjoyed staying with them. Despite their fearsome appearances, Magneto and Mystique were pretty easy to deal with.   
  
With his fear gone, John was able to flourish under Magneto and Mystique's patient tutelage. Magneto and John shared the ability to control energy outside of their bodies; so naturally, Magneto aided John as best he could, while Mystique decided to help John learn hand-to-hand combat.   
  
Time had passed, and Pyro found his adventures.   
  
Magneto was still an escaped felon, and more easily recognized than John, who was no one but a young man passed on the street.   
  
As he was today.  
  
John had been given an assignment from Magneto. This one involved next to no danger and barely any fun, but John was obliged to do whatever Magneto asked him.  
  
Today's assignment was to go down to the train station and get something out of a locker.   
  
Could be a bag of diamonds, could be a bag of peanuts, John had no idea.  
  
But, in its own way, it was an adventure. At least he was out of the house, and he had a goal.  
  
As he walked towards the lockers, he brought out the key. "Number 138." He muttered to himself.   
  
Looking down the endless rows of lockers, he found it.  
  
Checking to make sure the coast was clear, he looked on either side of him. "Ah-ha! Gotcha." He said aloud as he reached inside the locker and removed the parcel.  
  
It was a small box, perhaps only two pounds, and wrapped in brown paper. "Weird." He said as he turned it over in his hands.  
  
Shrugging, he slipped it into his pocket. 'Magneto's so paranoid.' He thought. 'Why would he have it delivered here instead of the penthouse?'  
  
John quickly left the train station, walking back towards his new home.  
  
"Hey, John!" he heard from the street.  
  
A pretty girl about his age pulled up next to him in a flashy red sports car.  
  
"You going uptown?" she asked.  
  
John looked back at her. "Do I know you?" he asked.  
  
As John watched, her eyes changed color with a quick blink. From light green, to full chrome yellow.   
  
"Mystique." He stated.   
  
"You were expecting Jubilee?" she asked, winking at him and changing her eyes back.  
  
"Well, I- Hey!" he grunted at someone shoved past him.  
  
"Get out of the car, bitch!"   
  
John looked back to find that three guys had come out of nowhere and were jacking their car! One of the guys, with a shaved head and a big tattoo on his arm had just hustled Mystique out of the driver's seat and shoved her into the street.   
  
John hurried over to her side. "Are you okay?" he asked.  
  
"Yeah, I'm fine." She said, "But the car's gone."  
  
John felt anger building up in his head, and knew the perfect way to vent. "They're not getting away with it." He growled as he brought out his lighter.  
  
He ignited a flame and instantly, he created three large fireballs. He looked back at the car, which was now about fifty feet away.  
  
The fireballs lifted to the air and quickly followed it. 'The tires!' he commanded them with his mind.  
  
Obediently, the fireballs connected with the rubber, melting them into the street.   
  
Still unsatisfied, John produced blowtorch streamers, which flew towards the car.   
  
The thugs inside weren't oblivious to what was happening, and leapt out of the car just as they engulfed the vehicle.  
  
"Nice going Pyro, you couldn't have waited for NBC?" Mystique asked beside him in irritation as a frightened crowd gathered to watch them from the sidewalks.  
  
John, however, was scoffing, "Oh please, those thugs got what they deserved."  
  
Mystique rolled her eyes, "Yeah, but now we have to walk home."  
  
Her point was punctuated by the car's fuel tank catching fire and in effect, the car exploded.  
  
"Sorry." He muttered.  
  
Mystique rolled her eyes and sighed, "Don't worry about it, it's not like I paid for it or anything."  
  
"You mean you-?"  
  
"Stole it? Of course. Now come on, we'll have to explain this to Eric before he sees it on the news tonight."  
  
*^*^*^*^*^  
  
Xavier reared back from the Cerebro station before him.   
  
"John." He whispered.  
  
They hadn't seen or heard from him in months, and just now Charles had felt the boy's presence.   
  
'Eric did not flee the country, or even relocate to another state. To think, he's been in the city all this time.' Charles thought in bemusement.  
  
After the unpleasant incidents at the lake, Charles had not bothered to search for Eric. He knew that it would be pointless, even without his helmet, Eric could block out Cerebro with his own powerful- if somewhat limited- psychic abilities.   
  
However, that did not go for his associates.   
  
Charles and the rest of the entire school knew that Mystique had been impersonating the late Senator Kelly, which was dishonest; however, the only reason that the X-men were not sent to stop her was the sad truth: there was no one else speaking in the defense of mutants to the government.  
  
Xavier had to admit that she was doing a good job, especially with her recent triumph over Alec Green.  
  
But John was different.   
  
Charles had seen many students come and go through his school. Some went off to college, some moved out to join the rest of the world, and some even started families. None had ever been stolen.  
  
Stolen.  
  
Yes, that is what Eric had done. Once they returned to the mansion to try to rebuild what had been damaged, he asked Rogue and Bobby about it. They said that John had been talking to Magneto while they were all aboard the jet, that Magneto seemed to be tempting John in some odd way. John had then left them inside the jet to go into the forest alone; much later, Jean told them whom he was with.  
  
'Blast you, Eric.' He thought somewhat bitterly.  
  
If John had to use his power, Charles could only hope that it wasn't because he needed to protect himself from Eric.   
  
Well, it wouldn't do, would it, to let this go on for longer than it should? Charles knew what he had to do, fulfill the promise that he made to every student that enrolled: that he would shelter and protect them.  
  
Yet it had been many weeks since John was taken, and Eric can be very convincing. Surely by now he's promised John the world, in return for the abuse of his powers.  
  
Knowing Eric, it will take some convincing to get John to return.' Charles thought.  
  
Charles wheeled out of the Cerebro chamber, and cast a mental net over the inhabitants of the school. Yes, everyone was where they should be.  
  
Concentrating just a fraction harder, Charles called out to someone.  
  
The very someone who may be the only person who could bring John home.  
  
'Bobby, could you come to my office please?' 


	8. Boring Day, Interesting Night

Author's Note: What's cookin', good lookin'? Thanks for all of the great reviews, as usual, I'm both flattered and energized. When I say 'energized' by good reviews, I mean that the praise kind of charges me up, you know? It makes me want to do even better, so keep 'em comin'! You know that song that goes: 'B-B-Baby, You Ain't Seen Nothin' Yet!', yeah, that's where this story is going.  
  
*^*^*^*^*  
  
John sighed as he walked aimlessly through the penthouse.   
  
'Who would've thought being a super-villain could be so boring?' he wondered in irritation.  
  
It had been an uneventful three weeks since his last little 'adventure'. There was absolutely nothing to do; John had gone to just about every movie, club and shopping center in the city.   
  
He was going crazy with boredom.   
  
There were no pressing team missions to attend to and no assignments from Magneto specifically for John himself. Although, he didn't think that obtaining mysterious parcels, equipment and supplies for them really classified as 'assignments'. Maybe 'personal favor' was more accurate.   
  
Well, whatever you called them, he hadn't been sent on any since the train station.  
  
Where were Magneto and Mystique? They had to be around here somewhere. Mystique had just returned from another Senator Kelly appearance at a gubernatorial debate, and she would be home for awhile, until another Senator thing came up.  
  
John went upstairs to find his two companions who were anything BUT boring.   
  
*^*^*^*^*^*^*  
  
Eric and Mystique had pushed together two separate lounge chairs so that they could face each other while they reclined in the sun. It was a beautiful afternoon, the pool's water was pristine, there was not a cloud in the sky, a warm breeze blew across their bodies and they wanted to enjoy the day together.  
  
It was still a bit too chilly to go swimming, but the pool area could still be enjoyed.  
  
Playfully, Eric was feigning disinterest at Mystique's overt advances. Sitting across from him, she had ran her hands from his ankles, up to his knees.  
  
"Don't start something you don't intend to finish." Eric told her from behind his newspaper.  
  
Mystique smiled. She knew that behind his paper shield he was smiling too. That was part of the game.  
  
Mystique drummed her fingers on his knees. "Eric?"  
  
He turned the page of his newspaper. "Try as you might, you will not distract me from my paper." He told her in such a determined voice that for a moment she thought he was serious.  
  
Mystique rolled her eyes. He was playing hardball.  
  
Well, she could play too.  
  
In one swift movement, she climbed on top of him, and wrenched the newspaper out of his hands. Eric looked up at the beautiful blue woman who was presently straddling him, and smiled cunningly.   
  
"Mystique, my pet, not in front of company."  
  
Mystique's eyes grew large as she looked over to the patio. No one was there. "Why you-" she began to protest but he arched up to kiss her.  
  
When the kiss ended, Eric grasped her hips and lifted her off him. "The boy is coming." He whispered in her ear.  
  
They both settled back into their initial positions as John came outside.   
  
"Hey." He greeted them indifferently.  
  
"Bored?" Mystique asked.  
  
"Always. God, I thought that villains had more fun than this." John groaned.  
  
"John, if you're so bored here, you could always go back to Charles's school." Eric said as he checked his watch, "If I remember the schedule correctly, the students would begin their math lessons about now. You want to join them?"  
  
"No way! I like it right here, thanks. But this is killing me! Are you sure there's no mutant-hating groups or politicians we can take down?"  
  
Magneto shook his head.   
  
"Nothing at all? Come on, man! You're got to give me something to do!"   
  
Mystique got up from her lounge chair and guided John to the patio table. Eric followed them.  
  
Eric sat beside John at the table as Mystique disappeared behind the bar. "Ah, here we go. You know how to play poker?" she asked as she brandished a deck of cards.  
  
Eric made a small grimace, though John couldn't fathom why.  
  
John was never thrilled with card games, but it beat wandering around the apartment all day. "Yeah."  
  
Mystique sat down and began to deal.  
  
*^*^*^*^*  
  
The card game came and went, Mystique being the victor.   
  
"I fold." John said.   
  
Magneto had been the first one to fold. Knowledgeable in politics, technology, combat, gourmet cuisine and fine art, but the man couldn't play a game of poker to save his life.  
  
John found it to be very funny.  
  
Just as she reshuffled the cards and asked, "Wanna play again?", the phone rang.  
  
Not looking up from the book he brought out with him, Magneto held out his hand.  
  
Obediently, the cordless receiver floated over to him.  
  
"Hello?"  
  
Mystique began to deal cards for her and John as Eric got up from the table and walked away from the group to continue his conversation in private.  
  
John arranged his cards as he watched Eric's silhouetted figure in the waning sunlight. The sky was fading into orange, pink and purple, the sun a blinding hot pink.   
  
It was beautiful, but John's focus was on the man whose body language signaled danger, and plenty of it. He was rubbing his forehead and his back was ramrod straight.  
  
Still on the telephone, he was now speaking a different language, one John was sure he had never heard before.   
  
Quickly, Magneto returned to address them as he hung up.  
  
No longer amused or playful, his expression was deathly serious. "Mystique, John, I need you to go inside. Now."  
  
Mystique stood up, "Why? What's the matter?"  
  
"They are coming, and I think that it would be the best thing if I were to speak to them first. Alone." He said, raising his eyebrows to accentuate his point.  
  
Mystique nodded calmly and turned to John. "Let's go."  
  
She grabbed him by the forearm and hustled him inside. "Hey, wait! What's going on?" he asked as she practically dragged him back inside.  
  
"Eric has to talk to some people, and it's best if they were alone."  
  
"Well, yeah he said that already. But what people?"  
  
"That's for Eric to tell, not me."  
  
"Who are they? Are they dangerous?"  
  
Mystique shrugged as she walked beside him down the stairs. "Yes, they're as dangerous as you or me. Don't worry though, Eric can handle them."  
  
John sighed in exasperation. Mystique lived up to her name by being totally evasive. Usually, it was part of her charm, but right now it was really starting to piss him off.   
  
  
  
Eric was alone on the roof with who knew how many dangerous people. Mystique was wrong, he couldn't handle himself. What if they were some more of those government soldiers? What if they were keeping Eric busy on the roof just so they could distract him to get to Mystique and him?  
  
'No way, not again!' he thought angrily as he charged back up the steps.   
  
"Wait, John, stop! You don't know what you're dealing with!" Mystique called after him.  
  
*^*^*^*^*^*  
  
John plowed back into Eric and Mystique's room, shifting into his 'stealth mode'. Quietly, he headed towards the glass wall and looked for Magneto.  
  
'There he is! What the hell is he doing?' John asked himself as he hid in a place where he had a view of what was happening.  
  
There were only two other figures visible to him other than Magneto. One with Magneto, the other was farther away. He was relieved to find that his mentor wasn't in any apparent danger, but John couldn't understand what he was watching.   
  
Magneto stood before a young woman. Slowly, he placed both of his hands on her face. She bent her neck, and Magneto kissed the crown of her head.  
  
The girl straightened her posture and smiled at him, and he turned to the other person, but John couldn't see the other one, nor could he hear what they were saying.  
  
His curiosity was growing by the second. He just had to find out what was going on!  
  
'I'll risk it!' he decided as he moved forward.  
  
He jumped up from his spot and tried to move to a closer one, "Oh, shit." He said aloud.  
  
Magneto and the girl had just turned in unison to look right at him though the glass!  
  
'Busted.'  
  
He froze, and decided that he could either hide, which would be pointless, or he could come forward and accept whatever punishment Eric would dish out.  
  
Then, suddenly, he wasn't alone in the room anymore.  
  
In the dim light, John couldn't see very well, and never saw the punch coming.  
  
"Aw, hey I-" John ground out as he put his hand over his eye.   
  
Before he could even regain his wits, he felt someone grab his arm with both of their hands, and pull him- hard.  
  
The person- whoever it was- was very strong, and they spun in a circle, dragging John along.  
  
After three revolutions, the person let go of John's arm- and flung him right through the glass wall!  
  
The glass shattered around him, and John landed outside, flat on his back.  
  
"Oof!"   
  
The wind was knocked out of him, and his head hurt almost as bad as it did when he was dropped by the Cerebro wave. He couldn't move, talk, or even think.  
  
After a moment, he opened his eyes. "Ah!" he winced at the pain as light poured in. His head was swimming, he heard voices, but couldn't make out the words.  
  
Then, the face of the girl Magneto had been talking to came into view above him. She was followed by a boy. Then came Magneto, who looked both sympathetic to his pain and amused at the brutal ass kicking he had just received.  
  
"John, I'd like you to meet Wanda and Pietro. My children." 


	9. Family Portrait

Author's Note: Ok, I know that the physical descriptions don't exactly match with the comics (Pietro looks more like the Evolution version, and Wanda's look was just something I picked up from this girl I know who has the same features), but.who cares? I mean really. I've been to all kinds of web sites and message boards and have read countless posts about the movie and Evolution cartoon series not being true to the comics, but I think that the comics were way too weird. So anyway, if the dates don't match up completely to the comic chronology, get over it and just enjoy something a little different, ok?  
  
*^*^*^*^*  
  
John tried to focus, but his head was still swimming. He closed his eyes and tried to concentrate, but it was so hard.  
  
"Pietro, was that really necessary?" he heard Magneto ask from above him.  
  
"No, but it was fun." Said someone else.  
  
"God, Pietro! What did you do to John?! You better not have given him any brain damage!" he heard Mystique hiss.  
  
"Hey, I wasn't the one spying on us, ok? He should have known better, whoever he is." Came the unknown voice.  
  
"We should get him inside." Said a second female voice.  
  
"Yeah, Eric help me, please." Mystique said.  
  
John felt two sets of arms help him stand up. He was wobbly on his feet, and he could already feel the bruise of a black eye coming on, but he'd be okay. Mystique guided him into the apartment and over to the couch in the room she shared with Eric.  
  
"Here, just lay down. I'll be back in a few minutes." John nodded and mumbled some sort of response, but she didn't pay him any mind as she followed Eric, Wanda and Pietro.  
  
*^*^*^*^*^*  
  
"John, are you awake?"  
  
He opened his eyes to find Mystique hovering above him, "Yeah, what happened?" he asked once he felt a dull ache on his face and in the back of his head.  
  
She grasped his hands and helped him stand up. "I told you not to bother Eric, but you didn't deserve that much punishment."  
  
As they descended the stairs, John found that he couldn't quite remember what she was talking about. "What do you mean?" he asked as he followed her into the kitchen.  
  
"Have a seat." She told him.  
  
He sat down on one of the black stools that went to the kitchen island and waited for an explanation.  
  
Mystique was pawing through the refrigerator, looking for something. As John waited, she dug through the drawers and shelves.  
  
"Ah, here we go." She said, brandishing a frozen steak.  
  
"Dinner?" he asked as she slipped the meat into a plastic bag.  
  
"No, here. It's an old remedy, but it's all we have right now." She said as she held it to his eye.  
  
"What happened to me?" he asked.  
  
Mystique took a stool across the island from him, "You got your ass kicked, that's what."  
  
"Why? I didn't do anything."  
  
"Oh, yes you did. Eric doesn't like being spied on, never has, and the apples didn't fall far from the tree."  
  
"What apples?"  
  
Mystique rolled her eyes and sighed, "Eric's apples! Don't you remember seeing other people with him on the roof before Pietro threw you through the doors?"  
  
"Who's Pietro?"  
  
"Eric's son."  
  
"He's got a kid?!"  
  
Mystique put her face in her hands, "Let's start over, ok? I'll go slow, and you let me know if I'm going too fast."  
  
John held the frozen steak to his eye a bit more firmly and leaned in, determined to catch every detail.  
  
"Eric has children. Two of them, twins."  
  
"Wow, really? No one ever told me that."  
  
"One is a boy named Pietro, the other is a girl named Wanda."  
  
"Pietro threw me threw the glass doors?" John asked, feeling a touch of anger.  
  
"Yes. The twins have lived abroad for most of their lives, but for whatever reason, they've decided to come here."  
  
John sat back in his chair, a little dumbstruck.  
  
Magneto. Children. Who knew?  
  
Then, an idea occurred to him. "Hey Mystique?"  
  
"Yes?"  
  
"Those twins aren't yours and his, are they?"  
  
Mystique gave him a dangerous look, "You'd better watch your mouth. I didn't tell you anything more than the basics, Eric will probably tell you the whole story later. They're coming back soon, for dinner."  
  
John got off his stool and left the kitchen.  
  
It was a lot to take in. Before, he hadn't thought too much about Magneto's personal past. All he knew was that he was in the Holocaust (a well known fact, and a topic that John had always shied away from mentioning out of respect), and after it was over, he met the Professor somewhere along the way.  
  
Anything outside of that, he just figured that Magneto had gone on adventures. Fighting anyone who wanted to hurt mutants, acquiring more wealth than John could ever dream of, building machines and bases.  
  
Just your standard villain mischief.  
  
However, he had greatly miscalculated by dismissing the idea of Magneto having any semblance of normalcy to his life.  
  
Children.  
  
John glanced at his reflection in a hallway mirror. The semicircle of purple was already forming on his cheek and around his eye. He sighed in irritation.  
  
Magneto's son or no, he'd be repaid for the damage he did to John.  
  
Behind him, he heard voices. John returned to the large center room, and found Magneto to be the only occupant.  
  
Looking up, he said, "Ah, John. I'm glad to see you back on your feet. I hope there was no severe damage?" he asked sincerely.  
  
John shrugged, feeling awkward. "Uh, no, I'm fine."  
  
Magneto smiled, and put his hand on John's shoulder, "Good, good. I know you must be starving, so come, I've arranged for some fine dining tonight."  
  
John walked beside Eric into the dining room, where Wanda and Pietro were already seated.  
  
'Well, this ought to be interesting.' He thought.  
  
*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*  
  
It was weird, watching Wanda, Pietro and Magneto. John had picked at his plate, but he found that he didn't have much of an appetite.  
  
Magneto had taught him many things over the past months that John had been in his company. He had helped John to refine his control over the flames, but his lessons weren't always about mutant powers.  
  
Magneto had taught John the finer points of people watching; the gestures that they made, the expressions they used, the physical characteristics that revealed any relation among them.  
  
Watching Magneto and the twins, John put his developing skill into use.  
  
The first thing he noticed was that Wanda and Pietro didn't even look like twins.  
  
Pietro looked just like Magneto. His body was leanly muscular and he stood a few inches shorter than his father. He had Magneto's sharp facial features: cheekbones and jaw line. They shared the same piercing blue gaze as well.  
  
There were, of course, subtle differences. While Magneto was ultimately bigger, Pietro had a wiry strength about him. John had seen pictures of Magneto, the Professor kept one of them together from years ago on his desk, he had had dark brown hair. Though his hair was now slowly fading to dark gray, Pietro's hair was nearly platinum, and John didn't think that it came from a bottle.  
  
Wanda was a different story altogether. She looked very out of place in their small family.  
  
While both Pietro and Magneto were relatively pale, she had very tan skin, with long wavy black hair. Her face was pretty: she had large almond-shaped brown eyes with long lashes, a cute nose, and bowed lips. Her body was slender; she was tall for a girl, but still the shortest one in the room.  
  
She didn't look anything like Magneto, but as John watched her, he could find that they had a similar personality. Pietro struck John as a more outgoing kind of person, a show off and very sure of himself. Wanda and Magneto, however, were a little more introverted and calm.  
  
There were traits they shared with Magneto, though. Just by listening to them, John could already tell that they were both highly intelligent, cunning and thoroughly convinced of their superiority.  
  
Which, of course, answered the question of whether or not they had inherited the mutant factor.  
  
"John, are you alright?" hearing his name snapped him out of his thoughts.  
  
"Huh?! Yeah, I'm fine." He answered.  
  
"You've barely eaten." Magneto stated.  
  
"I'm ok, but I think I'm gonna turn in early." John got up and left the table without asking to be excused.  
  
*^*^*^*^*^*  
  
John laid in bed, staring at the ceiling. He felt weird.  
  
His head didn't hurt as much as it did earlier, and the swelling around his eye had gone down. He felt sore, but considering the damage he had taken on, he was lucky.  
  
No, he felt weird emotionally.  
  
From the moment Mystique enlightened him about Magneto's progeny, he felt the odd emotion that he couldn't quite explain.  
  
It had taken several hours of staring at the ceiling for him to come to a realization: he was jealous.  
  
Jealous.  
  
Magneto had had children with a woman, how dare he?  
  
John was indignant, he knew that his feelings were foolish, but he couldn't help the way he felt.  
  
He had never known about them, and he felt left out since he was the only one that hadn't known.  
  
Magneto. John had liked him since they first met on the jet. He was powerful, confident, superior. He drew John to him like a moth to a flame- pardon the expression.  
  
Despite his initial misgivings on Magneto and Mystique's intentions toward him, John felt like they had become a team in the past months. Almost like a family. Magneto and Mystique had gone out of their way to provide for him, teach him, give him what he had longed for since he left home.  
  
Then these two show up out of nowhere- they didn't even live in the country, if John remembered correctly- and get all of Magneto's attention?  
  
It wasn't fair, but John knew there was nothing he could do about it, they were Magneto's kids.John wasn't.  
  
'They sure won the genetic lottery.' John thought bitterly as he rolled over and tried to sleep.  
  
Some kids got all the luck. 


	10. Storyteller

Author's Note: Isn't writing and reading just the most fun you could ever have? I'm reading a story at the same time that I'm writing this! Fun stuff, but a little distracting. What was I going to say? Oh, yeah. The story that Eric tells totally warps the comic version (Magda's last name is changed, on top of everything else!) but hey, I could've done worse, right? Which reminds me, I'll do a full length story based on what Eric says after this one is done. Love ya, enjoy!  
  
*^*^^*^**^*  
  
"The twins have grown, I almost didn't recognize them."  
  
"Yes, I'm proud. Pietro is nearly a man, and Wanda has become a lovely young lady."  
  
"You still need to explain things to John."  
  
"I know, I'd been putting it off, but I suppose that I'll be forced to reveal everything now."  
  
"He's been here long enough, you can trust him."  
  
"I hope so, if something were to happen-"  
  
"Nothing will. It's not John you have to worry about."  
  
"Hmmm?"  
  
"They're proud to be yours, they'll announce it to anyone."  
  
"That's true. Then again, they're old enough now that they can get themselves out of trouble. Especially with their powers."  
  
"Yes, but John doesn't know anything about them. It's your story to tell, Eric."  
  
"I'll tell him what I told you."  
  
"Is it the truth?"  
  
Pause. "It's as close to the truth as it needs to be."  
  
Silence.  
  
"I'm sorry. I can't give you more than that."  
  
*^*^*^*^*  
  
The sun crept over a city that never slept. Its blindingly bright orange light touched every inch of the concrete jungle, from the streets below, to the sky scraping windows above.  
  
The sun penetrated the glass barrier, and glared into John's closed eyes. His brow furrowed, and he reluctantly opened his eyes. Blinking, he assessed his position on the bed.  
  
The sheets had twisted around his lanky frame, and due to his sprawled position, he found his neck to be somewhat stiff.  
  
"Trouble sleeping?"  
  
John quickly turned, and found Eric sitting in a chair on the other side of the bed, already dressed for the day, his legs crossed, his demeanor relaxed.  
  
"God, Magneto!" John yelled.  
  
"You have questions." He stated.  
  
John glared. He was still a little cross about being left out of the loop. It made him feel like he wasn't trusted, or worse, he was thought of as a kid.  
  
"Yeah, why do you and Mystique keep sneaking in here to wake me up?" he asked sharply, his irritation plain.  
  
Magneto issued him a small smile. "Cheaper than an alarm clock. Do you?"  
  
"Do I what?"  
  
"Have any questions. Concerning my relationship with the twins; you are free to ask. I will tell you about my past, but I will not offer this information again."  
  
John leaned forward on the bed, his curiosity mounting.  
  
"Ok, I've got plenty of time."  
  
Eric did not smile in his usual amused way; the story he was about to tell carried with it his greatest pain and regret.  
  
"All right, I'll tell you need to know, and omit any unnecessary or intimate details."  
  
The man before John took a deep breath, and began.  
  
"As many tragic romances do, this all began in France. I was present at a gallery ball, invited by a friend of mine, Maurice, who knew nothing of my true identity at the time. As far as he knew, I was just in the market for a Picasso.  
  
"I had my reasons for being there, mind you, but it's not important.  
  
He introduced me to a woman; beautiful, intelligent, completely enchanting. Her name was Magda Maximoff. Perhaps it was our shared love of fine art, or our shared love of French wine, but for whatever reason, we were inseparable. I don't have to explain where that led, do I?" Eric asked John, who was listening intently.  
  
"No, I can fill in the blanks. Go on." John said, embarrassed.  
  
"Well, everything was fine, until the cruel hand of fate stepped in: I was forced to reveal my mutant abilities in the worst possible way. Again, the details around the reason for that are unimportant. She flew from me in fright, and I let her go. However, when I went to her apartment to try to explain everything to her, she was gone.  
  
"With nothing to keep me there, I left France for a less painful territory. Then, a touch over a year later, that mutual friend of ours I mentioned, Maurice, managed to contact me. He told me to return to France immediately to help Magda, who had taken on too many hardships to bear alone. I did as he had asked, and found her practically living on the streets.  
  
"She was not alone.  
  
"Fearing my intent, she ordered me away from her and the babies, but how could I? Seeing it as my only option to rescue them from poverty, I 'made her an offer she couldn't refuse'. In exchange for visitation, I would provide her with my base in Romania and enough money to raise the twins. Reluctantly, she agreed. I was granted only two weeks with them every three years."  
  
"Your conditions?" John asked, meaning the amount of visitation.  
  
"Hers. I was not happy with the arrangement, but I felt that it would be better for the twins to at least know me in an abstract sense than not at all."  
  
"Yeah." John said, the weight of Eric's words sinking in.  
  
"How long was it since you last saw them?" he asked as he shifted on the bed.  
  
Eric furrowed his brow a little before answering, "A little over four years. I would have visited them sooner, but I was unavailable."  
  
"Whoa."  
  
"Yes, I know."  
  
"Hey, what about Magda?"  
  
"Oh, she died. The day of her funeral was the last time I saw the twins." He said, somewhat sadly.  
  
John didn't know what to say to such a story. Somehow, 'I'm sorry' didn't seem like enough. Eric shifted his position a little, and leaned forward. His face was a mask, revealing none of the emotions that John felt he must have been feeling after recalling all the painful memories of his past. John felt like crying himself, but suppressed the girly emotion and listened to Eric.  
  
"With their mother gone, and my enemies dealt with, it is time for me to come through on a promise I made to them."  
  
John leaned forward.  
  
"Years ago, I told them that when it is safe, they could come live with me." 


	11. Mall Rat

John was NOT a happy camper.  
  
Upon hearing from Magneto that Pietro and Wanda were there to stay, he didn't know how to react. He had already realized that he was jealous of them; and he wasn't particularly found of Pietro, given how they'd met.  
  
But what could he do? Tell Magneto that his children weren't welcome in his own home? Oh, yeah, he could see it now:  
  
"I told them that when it was safe, they could come live with me."  
  
"Sorry, I don't want them here."  
  
"Oh, of course John! I'll go downstairs right now and tell them to beat it."  
  
John laughed a little in his head at the thought of Magneto-one of the most powerful mutants on Earth, for goodness's sake! - saying something like 'beat it'.  
  
'It might not be so bad.' John reasoned. He hadn't really sat down and talked to the twins, maybe he was just being a sore loser.  
  
Loser.  
  
Yep, that about summed up how he felt. He felt like a loser for being made a fool out of in front of his mentor, and he felt like he was going to be cast aside in favor of Magneto's kids.  
  
But they WERE his kids, weren't they? Yes. Children he'd had with that Magda woman, children he'd been forced to watch grow up from afar for most of their lives. Yet, they were still his. It was written all over them; their personality, tiny physical traits as well.  
  
And what was John?  
  
Just some dumb kid whose determination to prove himself as a responsible, trustworthy teammate had led him right onto the 'enemy's' side of this little squirmish going on between Xavier and Magneto.  
  
He felt very much like a stray; living in Magneto's house on borrowed time.  
  
What would he do what that borrowed time ran out?  
  
*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*  
  
John was walking through the apartment, flipping the cap of his lighter without lighting any flames. It wouldn't do to inadvertently set something of Magneto's on fire just because he felt jealous.  
  
"Hey, you're.um, what's your name again?"  
  
He turned to find Wanda behind him in the hallway. He couldn't help but give her a good look up and down. She was pretty, but for once his interest in the girl had nothing to do with his hormones.  
  
He just wanted to see Magneto's daughter.  
  
She was wearing an edgy outfit, by normal everyday standards: black pants, a tight red tank top, a black choker, ruby stud earrings, black leather motorcycle gloves. Her wild, wavy black hair danced over her shoulders.  
  
"I'm John." He answered simply.  
  
She came forward, and fell into step beside him as he made his way downstairs. He decided to take the initiative by starting some small talk, he was curious, despite his jealousy. "So, um.have you ever been to America before this?"  
  
"No, this is our first visit."  
  
"Really? You'll love it! There's a ton of things to do, especially in this city."  
  
"That is good, my brother becomes bored easily."  
  
John did NOT want to think about Pietro; he still owed him for the night before.  
  
"So, where exactly did you come from? Mystique said that you've lived abroad, but she didn't really explain where."  
  
"In Romania. We were born in France, but raised in Romania. We left because we caught reports of Magneto destroying a government compound. We did not know he was in jail, and when we could not reach him, we came here."  
  
John nodded as they headed into the kitchen for some breakfast.  
  
Magneto and Mystique were there already.  
  
"Good morning, father. Good morning Mystique." Wanda said respectfully. Magneto smiled and inclined his head in response, while Mystique remained still.  
  
"Where is your brother?" he asked once they all settled at the table.  
  
"He is still sleeping, father. The airplane made him tired."  
  
"Yes, I suppose it would, that long of a time sitting still- well look who's come to join us!" Magneto said, gesturing to the very exhausted looking Pietro, who had just walked in.  
  
Through a yawn, he asked, "What's up?"  
  
"The sun, for one thing. And it has been for hours. Get ready for the day, Pietro, there is much to do."  
  
John watched Pietro intently. The young man seemed irritated at being chided for his sleepy head.  
  
"All right, all right. Geez, you couldn't wait for a couple seconds?" he muttered on his way out.  
  
John returned to his breakfast.  
  
He hadn't gotten through two bites of his cereal when Pietro walked through the kitchen door again- washed, dressed, and decidedly more upbeat.  
  
John was surprised to say the least, in fact, he had nearly gagged on his spoonful of corn flakes, but no one else seemed impressed.  
  
'Maybe it's part of his mutation.' John thought, 'The power to change clothes super-fast!'  
  
"All right, everyone, it's time to go." Magneto announced as he stood up from the table.  
  
*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*  
  
John felt that the new situation he had been thrust into was somewhat surreal. There he was with Magneto and Mystique- by far the two most dangerous mutants on Earth- in a mall.  
  
They weren't planning to create any sort of mischief today. They were only here so that Pietro and Wanda could grab some new clothes. In their urgency to help their father, they had only brought the basics of their wardrobe, and since they were relocating, they needed to get some clothes that were more 'American'.  
  
John didn't mind. He was able to pick up some new clothes as well, and he was out of the apartment, which were both pluses.  
  
Despite the bizarreness of the situation and his still-standing general dislike of the twins, he was actually starting to enjoy himself.a little.  
  
The mall trip was accomplished with relative ease and speed.  
  
However, on the way out, John saw something that the others had passed by without noticing.  
  
The group was leaving the building, on their way to lunch, when John felt it on the door handle.  
  
It was cold. Ice cold.  
  
He looked at it.  
  
The handle was covered by a thin coating of ice.  
  
'What the-'  
  
He looked over and saw Bobby standing to his left about 20 feet down the sidewalk.  
  
John couldn't have spoken if he wanted to, for his shock.  
  
His mind felt like it was moving in molasses. He stood there, still holding the icy door handle, gawking at Bobby, who stared back.  
  
His friend's face was a mask. He didn't look surprised at John for being with Magneto- but he should've been shocked. John had thought that the X- men assumed he had died in the flood. Now he knew that they knew where he was and whom he was with.  
  
John stared.  
  
Bobby stared back.  
  
"John, come on." Mystique called beside him as she followed Magneto and the twins to the right, away from Bobby.  
  
John couldn't think. He could only obey. Breaking his gaze away from Bobby, he followed her.  
  
When he looked back, Bobby was gone. 


	12. Midnight Snack

Pietro was finding it difficult to sleep. New York was so different from what he was used to. Here he found buildings that touched the sky instead of grassy fields; streets clogged with traffic rather than simple dirt roads and trails through the forests near his house in Romania.  
  
America, he found, was a busy place.  
  
Not a bad thing when one such as he was constantly looking for some form of entertainment.  
  
However, entertainment was NOT the reason that he and Wanda had gone there. They had come to America after learning of their father's escape from a government compound. This led them to believe that he was in terrible danger, he might need help; the twins concern was heightened when they could not reach him on the telephone.  
  
The last time they saw him, he had given them a number to call if they ever needed anything- he had always answered within two rings.  
  
They were a family, dammit, no matter how broken or dysfunctional.  
  
Pietro felt that as a son, he had a bloodline obligation to help his father. Not that it was by any means an obligation; he would have gone to America by himself just for the adventure aspect of the whole ordeal.  
  
He thought that he would find Magneto trapped by some mad military scientist, or some other clichéd nonsense, but instead they found him alive, well, and complete with a new addition.  
  
Pietro dug through the fridge, looking for a midnight snack. He had a tendency to eat junk when he was bothered by something.  
  
Just who was this John guy?  
  
"Trouble sleeping?" Pietro turned to see Wanda wander into the kitchen wearing the new pajamas they had bought today.  
  
"How could you guess?" he asked in Romanian. They were almost equally comfortable in English, but usually reserved it for when necessary. He brought out some ice cream and gestured it to her.  
  
She nodded and took a seat at the table, "Woman's intuition."  
  
Pietro studied her for a moment. Yes, she was a woman. They were growing up.  
  
He sat down across from her and handed her a spoon. "Wanda, what do you know about John?"  
  
She took a bite. "Nothing really, but I don't think he likes you very much."  
  
Pietro rolled his eyes, "If he's still mad about my attack, he can only blame himself. He had no right to spy on us, we hadn't seen father for four years! What gave him the idea that he could intrude on our reunion?"  
  
Wanda nodded, and took another spoonful of the ice cream. Chocolate was her favorite; she was a girl after all. "Well, maybe he felt entitled." She suggested.  
  
"What do you mean?"  
  
Pietro watched as his sister's dark eyes focused, she was squinting in concentration. "Pietro, how many times have we seen father in our lives?"  
  
"Two weeks every three years." He said automatically; the amount of visitation granted to Eric was a miniscule, but treasured time.  
  
Wanda nodded, "Yes, and so many things could've happened in the years between his visits."  
  
Pietro's thoughts connected within a split second. "No way! It can't be, you've got to be way off base with this!" he cried.  
  
Wanda held up her hand, trying to calm him, sway him to her reasoning. "Just think about it for a second, will you? We've only seen him a few times in our whole lives, Pietro. We didn't even know that he was in jail, or why, until three days ago. It wouldn't be that much harder for him to keep this a secret from us."  
  
"You've got to be wrong about this." Pietro growled.  
  
Wanda's eyes flashed as the conclusion began to make more and more sense to her. "Well, Mystique was with him four years ago, when we last saw him, who knows how long she's been in his company before that? John's not that much younger than us, Pietro."  
  
"Oh, come on! You think he had a son with her and wouldn't even tell us about it? Don't you think Mystique would've mentioned it?"  
  
"Let's ask John!" Wanda said after she finished her bowl.  
  
"Way ahead of you." Pietro said as he ran out of the kitchen.  
  
A split second later, he returned, with John.  
  
*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*  
  
"What the Hell are you doing?!" John yelled.  
  
Wanda tried not to laugh. John was shrieking like a cat in cold water. However, she couldn't really blame him; one minute he was sound asleep and the next he was hauled up and into the kitchen.  
  
She watched as John's angry hazel eyes fixed themselves on Pietro and he gave her brother a hard shove. Pietro's amusement quickly flared into stupid testosterone driven anger, and shoved back.  
  
Uh, oh. This could be trouble. John didn't like Pietro already, and Pietro wasn't exactly thrilled with the idea that he might have a half-brother.  
  
Wanda concentrated and made a discreet gesture at the wrestling boys, and they flew apart, yanked into separation by an unseen force.  
  
"Pietro, do not lose sight of the reason you brought him down here." She told him.  
  
"Why did you bring me down here? What do you want?" John demanded sharply.  
  
"Just to talk." She answered. "We have questions we need you to answer. The first one is: who are your parents?"  
  
John looked at her as if she had gone crazy. "Why?"  
  
"Because we want to know." Pietro said.  
  
"Why should I tell you?" John asked.  
  
"Because we want to know, and we'll attack you if you don't tell us." Pietro growled.  
  
"John, please?" Wanda asked.  
  
He rolled his eyes. "Mary and Jake Allerdyce."  
  
"Not father and Mystique?" Pietro asked.  
  
"What? No, who told you that?"  
  
"Wanda did."  
  
"I only suggested it. It was a rational assumption since he's living here."  
  
Pietro sighed, relieved that he and John weren't related. "Well, now that we know what you are, who are you?"  
  
John rolled his eyes. "I'm John Allerdyce, and I'm not Magneto's son. As far as I know, you're the only one with that title."  
  
Wanda asked him, "Then what are you to our father?"  
  
John shrugged. He'd been asking himself that a lot lately.  
  
Pietro's patience was running out. "How did you meet him? Why do you live here?"  
  
John took a seat at the table. "You want the long or short of it?"  
  
Wanda sat down across from him, followed by Pietro. "Just explain."  
  
John took a deep breath; it was too early in the morning to deal with this. "I.ok, you know Magneto was in jail and all that, right?"  
  
"Yes, that's why we came here." Pietro said.  
  
"Right, well, he escaped, and it was this lucky coincidence that he found us. I was in a jet that was cashing with my old school friends. He used his power to catch the jet; he saved all of our lives. I don't know what he and my teachers had talked about that night, but the next morning, we were flying to this lake. Anyway, I left the jet to help them fight these military guys, but I got lost. I found Magneto and Mystique in this helicopter and he waved me aboard. The dam was about to collapse and going with him seemed like smarter than drowning."  
  
Pietro sat back, listening to John's story. He wasn't surprised that this John guy had gotten lost, or that his father had saved him. Magneto had gotten Pietro out of a few jams himself. "What else?" he asked.  
  
John gestured to the house. "Well, after we landed in some nowhere town on the border of the two countries, they brought me here to live with them. It's been about six months."  
  
Wanda brushed a dark lock out of her eyes. "They care for you?"  
  
"Um, yeah, I guess."  
  
"You have been like a family?"  
  
"I don't know, kind of. Mystique teaches me to fight, he helps me with my powers sometimes, and they give me assignments. It's been okay so far."  
  
"Powers?" Pietro asked, suddenly interested.  
  
"Yeah, I have powers."  
  
Wanda leaned forward, "What kind? Psychic? Elemental? Or just physical?" she asked, studying his face for any sign of mutation.  
  
John smiled flirtingly at her interest. "Well, since you asked." He said, bringing out his lighter.  
  
"What are you three still doing up?"  
  
All three of the teenagers turned to see Mystique in the doorway.  
  
"Oh, we were just talking." Wanda said.  
  
Mystique's yellow eyes betrayed no emotion, she only said, "I'm glad to see you bonding. But for now, you three need to go to bed, it's almost two in the morning."  
  
John went upstairs with the twins, whose bedrooms were on the same floor.  
  
He hadn't gotten the chance to show off his power over fire, and he still didn't know very much about the twins' power, but he'd know soon enough.  
  
*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^  
  
John didn't feel so threatened by the twins anymore. He understood that they were Magneto's kids, and while John didn't share the bloodline, he could still be a part of their weird little family. Over the next few days, he found that they weren't so bad. At least Wanda wasn't; Pietro was still a little too much for John. He didn't want to admit it, but their personalities were very similar, which was the true reason they clashed so often.  
  
If Xavier knew any of this, he would not have went to the measures he had.  
  
"Yeah, I saw him at the mall, and he saw me."  
  
"How did he react, Bobby?"  
  
"I'm not sure, he just kind of stood there. He was surprised, I mean who wouldn't be? Then some woman called him and he followed her like he was afraid of what would happen if he didn't. The woman was with Magneto, I don't think they noticed that he saw me."  
  
"Hmmm. How did he look?" Charles asked from behind his desk.  
  
Bobby had just informed him of what went on at the shopping center. His intentions were to have Bobby convince John to leave with him, but Bobby's attempt was thwarted by Mystique.  
  
Bobby's voice took on a worried tone. "He had a black eye, and his face was a little cut up."  
  
Bobby was worried for his friend. What had Magneto or Mystique done to him? Did they beat him? Was that why John didn't say anything, because he didn't want Magneto to hurt Bobby?  
  
He felt bad that he couldn't help John, yet. The Professor had an idea of how they could get John to come back. Bobby wanted him to come back to school, for his friend to return to him, and fill the aching void that had been left empty since John left the jet.  
  
Charles felt the same way. Eric had kidnapped a student of his and was now hurting him, John had to be saved, and before anymore harm came to him.  
  
"Don't worry, Bobby. We'll get him back." 


	13. Business Trip

"But we've only been here for a week!" Wanda cried to Eric.  
  
The twins were not happy about the new developments. Mystique's Senator Kelly was needed at an emergency committee, and Magneto had to go with her. This left the twins and John alone until they came back.  
  
John didn't mind, but the twins were understandably upset. No more than seven days after reuniting with their father, he had to leave again. Not that it was his fault or his choice; but this was a special occasion, it was THE occasion that they had been waiting for.  
  
Because of the importance of the situation, Magneto had to be there to protect Mystique. Despite the abundant security, it was still too easy for some whacko to get in a lucky shot. However, all Eric had to do to protect her would be to warp the magnetic field around her: create a type of force field.  
  
John understood that there was nothing more important to Magneto than the ensured survival and safety of mutants. That wasn't to say that he wouldn't do anything for his little group here in the house, but the man had his priorities straight as an arrow.  
  
"I know, Wanda, but you must understand, we cannot miss out on this opportunity. It's too important that Mystique be there." Eric said, trying to reason with her.  
  
Wanda was nearly a grown woman, but at times she could be as mature as a two-year old. She crossed her arms and glared at Eric, who was apologetic behind his desk.  
  
John sat on the couch, flipping his Zippo. He didn't really care that much, he was used to his old parents leaving him alone, this would just be more of the same as far as he was concerned.  
  
Idly, he wondered if he could convince Wanda to join him in the hot tub while Magneto and Mystique were gone.  
  
'She'd probably try to drown me.' John thought, smiling at the idea.  
  
"Come on, father! Is it really that important?" Pietro asked.  
  
"Yes, Pietro, I'm sorry, but it is. Mystique is the highest ranking official there, if she were to be.disabled, there would be next to no support for us in this country's government."  
  
Pietro rolled his ice blue eyes and sighed. "Fine, fine. But I'm not happy about this!" he declared. He didn't really mind that much, he understood the importance of the situation, but he didn't have to like it.  
  
"I don't know why you're getting so upset, it will only be for a few days, and then we'll come right back."  
  
The lights in the room flickered once, twice, and then went out completely. John heard Wanda say something in an angry tone, but it wasn't in English.  
  
The door slammed, and when the lights came back on, Wanda was gone. John could hear her stomping down the stairs.  
  
"That wasn't very ladylike." Eric grumbled.  
  
*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*  
  
Mystique drove them to the train station, and largely due to Wanda's bad mood, the car was relatively quiet.  
  
Pietro was watching a BMW speed across the highway with unnatural interest, and John was reading a Sports Illustrated magazine. Wanda just scowled.  
  
The train station came into view, and the party headed to the platform.  
  
Eric and Mystique gave their luggage to the attendant.  
  
All too soon, it was time for goodbyes.  
  
Mystique gave each one of them a kiss on the cheek, "You three behave. No parties, no drinking," she looked at John when she said the next bit, "And no house fires."  
  
John winked at her as she turned and got aboard the train.  
  
That left Eric.  
  
"Pietro, hold down the fort while I'm gone."  
  
Pietro cried, "Yes, sir!"  
  
Magneto smiled at him and patted his shoulder. "Good man."  
  
John was next. "John, I trust you'll help the twins adjust to the American way of life while we're gone?"  
  
"Sure, you got any beer?" he asked jokingly.  
  
Magneto smiled and shook John's hand, patting his shoulder as well.  
  
Wanda was still scowling. "Wanda, please. You don't want to misdirect your anger now, do you?"  
  
Wanda's face relaxed and she rolled her eyes, "I still don't want you to leave."  
  
"Don't worry, it's only for a few days. We'll be back before you know it," Magneto kissed her forehead, "Besides, it's for the most worthy of causes. If we succeed today, we'll be one step closer to mutant prosperity."  
  
Wanda sighed, relenting. Immature at times, but even she could see the significance of the committee Mystique had to attend. She hugged him. "Have a good time, father." He smiled at her and boarded the train.  
  
After a minute, the train left the station, and the platform was empty.  
  
John pocketed his lighter and looked around. Wanda to his left, and Pietro to his right.  
  
*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*  
  
"Do you think this is a good idea?"  
  
"What?"  
  
"Leaving them by themselves."  
  
"Well, perhaps not the best idea. Wanda and Pietro have only been in the country for a week, but John will look after them."  
  
"John's younger than both of them."  
  
"Only by a few months, Mystique, and you know what I mean. John hasn't had the parental protection that the twins have had, he's more self-reliant."  
  
"Well, he may be self-reliant, but that doesn't always go hand in hand with responsibility."  
  
"I'm sure everything will be fine. If we get back and things are awry, they will have to deal with the consequences of their actions."  
  
Mystique moved closer to Eric and kissed him. "I love it when you get all parental." 


	14. Frankly Familiar

Author's Note: Hey, I'm sorry that it took so long to post, but I caught a virus that's been going around; as much as I like to write, there ain't no way I'm gonna be typing with a fever of 102, ya feel me? Oh, and by the way, I've never seen the second Matrix movie, never-never-never, I don't even know what the Matrix movies are about! I've never seen the second movie, and it was so totally NOT what inspired this chapter! By the way, have I mentioned it's opposite day? ;)  
  
*^*^*^*^*  
  
Friday Afternoon  
  
"Bobby, Eric and Mystique have left John alone."  
  
Charles Xavier had just emerged from the Cerebro chamber, after Bobby had insisted that he check on John. Charles couldn't blame him, he was worried as well. Bobby's face lit up instantly.  
  
"Great! Where is he? Maybe if we hurry we can get him before they come back."  
  
Bobby was already putting on his jacket, ready to perform the rescue mission. Charles, however, was less enthusiastic.  
  
"Bobby, it's not as easy as it seems. Eric and Mystique may have left, but John is not alone. Cerebro picked up two other mutants who are living in the same apartment Eric has been keeping John."  
  
Bobby's face fell; he wanted to save his friend, but so many obstacles kept getting in the way!  
  
"What if John isn't the only mutant Magneto's caught? What if he's got a whole room full of kids that he's trying to twist into an army or something?" Bobby asked with a hint of desperation in his voice.  
  
Charles attempted to soothe him, "Bobby, Eric can be many things, but I don't think he would stoop so low. In any case, the two mutants with him are young, probably about the same age as you or John."  
  
Bobby thought for a moment, "What are their powers?"  
  
"I'm not sure, Cerebro cannot identify a mutant's power until the mutant in question is using their ability. Also, I have to be wearing the helmet to pick up on it, and I can't wear it day and night."  
  
Bobby frowned. This wasn't going well at all. "Listen, I just want to save my friend, ok? If the two mutants try to cause trouble, I'll freeze them."  
  
"Bobby, I understand your concern, but they could be very dangerous."  
  
Bobby sighed, irritated. "So can I. Just find him, Professor, please."  
  
*^*^*^*^*^**  
  
John propped his feet up and put in his new DVD. It was early Saturday morning and the penthouse was eerily quiet. Wanda and Pietro were gone, scoping out the city for something all three of them could do together later on in the afternoon.  
  
Magneto and Mystique had been gone for five days already, and as much as John liked both of them, he was thankful for the break. Mystique already worked him hard enough in combat training without Magneto trying to help him advance his skills with flame.  
  
Those two were like a couple of drill sergeants!  
  
Then again, learning how to fight would probably end up being more useful than trigonometry in the long run, especially in this life, so he reminded himself to be grateful for their instruction.  
  
They'd be back soon, and he was sure that once they came back things would go back to normal; his training would recommence, as would his mini- missions for Eric.  
  
Well, he still had some time left to enjoy the lax schedule. Which is exactly why he took advantage of Eric and Mystique's lovely home theater system.  
  
He had seen Matrix: Reloaded at the movie theaters with Bobby, Jubilee and some of the other kids from Xavier's, but he figured that it was worth a second viewing, especially on a TV that big.  
  
John watched as Neo punched and kicked his way through a million Agent Smiths.  
  
"Man, that would never happen!" he laughed aloud.  
  
*^*^*^*^*^*  
  
After John was finished watching the movie, and he had gotten washed and dressed for the day, he answered a phone call from Pietro.  
  
"John, we found something. Wanda and I flipped a coin and she won."  
  
"Yeah? What does she want to do?"  
  
"She wants to see the Lion King on Broadway. I have only once seen the cartoon movie, but that was a long time ago. I liked it, so perhaps the play will be good too. You want to see it?"  
  
John ran a brush through his hair. He had seen the cartoon movie too, and remembered that it was his favorite movie all through second grade. "Sure, why not? Where are you?"  
  
"We are on Broadway right now, Wanda just got the tickets. Do you want us to come back to there to pick you up?"  
  
John looked out the window. The sun was shining, the birds were singing, it was a beautiful day. "No, listen, why don't you and Wanda meet me at that playground on 5th and Lake? The play doesn't start for awhile; we can grab a bite to eat before it starts."  
  
"5th and Lake? All right, see you when we see you."  
  
"Cool."  
  
John hung up the phone and got ready to go.  
  
*^*^*^*^*^*  
  
It wasn't too long of a walk, but then again, John had long legs and took long strides.  
  
The playground where they agreed to meet at was about six blocks away from the penthouse, and about eight blocks away from Broadway. Almost a half point. The upscale neighborhood that Eric had bought into gradually faded into the middle class of the city.  
  
It was still nice, just a little less polish and a homier feel.  
  
The meeting place he had selected wasn't really a playground, more like a vacant concrete lot with a couple swing sets in it. It was okay, didn't really strike him as a place for major gang activity, more like a place where the neighbors got together for barbeques.  
  
John looked around, Wanda and Pietro weren't there yet so he sat down on a bench and relaxed, closed his eyes and let the sun shine down on him, warming his face.  
  
"Nice day." He said to no one in particular. He didn't care if anyone heard him, he just felt GOOD today.  
  
He heard a fluttering noise close by and opened his eyes. A bunch of birds had just flown out of the playground, revealing a very familiar figure.  
  
John got up from the bench, and found that he couldn't speak.  
  
"Mr. Allerdyce."  
  
That snapped him out of it. Bobby was smiling as he walked up to John. No one had said his last name in months, hearing it made him feel strange. Seeing Bobby again made him feel equally strange. He had seen Bobby outside of the mall, but he was called away by Mystique and never got the chance to say anything.  
  
"Bobby! What's going on, man?" John asked, happy to see his friend despite the odd circumstances.  
  
"John, it's great to see you again, but come on, we've got to go."  
  
"Go? Go where, what are you talking about?" John asked him.  
  
Bobby frowned. "John, don't worry, you'll be safe once we get back to the school."  
  
"What? I don't want to go back to the school."  
  
Bobby's jaw dropped upon hearing this. "Why not? I mean, I know the classes can be boring, but it's got to be better treatment than they've been giving you here!"  
  
John was very confused. "Bobby, what are you talking about?"  
  
"John, Magneto is dangerous, ok? If you don't come back to the school, there's no telling what else he'll do to you."  
  
John scoffed, "You mean FOR me! He's helped me develop my powers, he's letting me stay in his penthouse, he's gotten me all these nice things-"  
  
"Like that black eye?" Bobby asked, becoming angry at John's attitude.  
  
John shrugged and tenderly touched the fading bruise around his eye and on his cheek. "That wasn't him."  
  
"Well who was it then? Mystique?" Bobby asked as his temper grew.  
  
"No, it was his son." John said, also getting angry.  
  
"Look, John, I don't know what lies Magneto's told you, but this is crazy, you can't stay with him!"  
  
"Why not? How is he any different than Xavier?"  
  
Both of the young men were yelling now.  
  
"Magneto's a crazy serial killer! How do you know he's not planning to kill you like he was going to kill Rogue?!"  
  
"He's not a crazy serial killer, and at least he's actually doing something for mutants!"  
  
"God, John, why can't you see the truth? He's just going to use you for his stupid plots!"  
  
John didn't answer right away, he was distracted by something. What was that? It was a weird tingle that ran up his back. The temperature hadn't changed, the wind wasn't blowing.  
  
It took John a minute to realize that it was the same feeling he always got when Magneto walked into the room, his natural bio-magnetic energy effected everything around him.  
  
However, John knew that Eric and Mystique weren't due back for a couple more days, which left only one possibility.  
  
Oh, no.  
  
John looked back to Bobby, whose face was colored and he was still glaring.  
  
Quietly, John said, "Bobby, be careful what you say."  
  
"Why? Why should I be careful of what I say? Are you worried that madman will hear what I've said and then come kill me?!"  
  
"Bobby, no, just don't-"  
  
"You'd better watch your mouth."  
  
John watched as Bobby's focus shifted to the voice source behind him. John sighed, "Oh, shit."  
  
"Who are you?" Bobby asked.  
  
John turned around to see Pietro standing there behind him, his icy blue eyes glaring right back into Bobby's.  
  
"I'm Pietro, son of Eric Lehnsherr. The man you were just insulting is my father. I demand apology."  
  
John watched as Bobby scoffed. "No way!"  
  
"My brother demands an apology for your rudeness to our father. As do I. It would be in your best interest to apologize now."  
  
John looked to the side and saw that Wanda was making her approach.  
  
Not good.  
  
Quietly, John said to Bobby. "Just apologize and go, trust me, you do NOT want them angry."  
  
Bobby's anger and pride wouldn't let him stop. "You brought friends John? Well so did I."  
  
He put his fingers in his mouth and blew out a long, loud whistle.  
  
From the alley that ran along the playground emerged Jamie and Jubilee, a couple of John's friends from Xavier's.  
  
They came forward and stood beside Bobby.  
  
John sighed, this was way too weird.  
  
"Are we really going to do this?" he asked Bobby.  
  
"Well, you said Magneto was helping you to develop your powers, right?"  
  
John nodded.  
  
"Show me." 


	15. Fire & Ice I bet no one had ever used th...

John swallowed.  
  
He and Bobby had always joked around about the idea of having a power fight back at school, but that was forever ago. Looking into Bobby's determined eyes, he knew there was no joking and no backing down. John didn't want to hurt him, but there was no way he was going to let Bobby win this either.  
  
Bobby watched as John pulled out his trusty shark Zippo and sparked a flame. To John's surprise, Bobby smiled with anticipation.  
  
"You've been looking forward to this, haven't you?" John asked, amazed at Bobby's out-of-character actions. It wasn't like Bobby to make accusations and initiate conflict. Yet here he was, practically urging John to attack him.  
  
Bobby shrugged, "Remember how we always used to joke about this at school?"  
  
John nodded, "How could I forget?"  
  
"It's just gonna be so much fun to find out. You ready?"  
  
John held the flame in his hand and pocketed the lighter. So Bobby didn't want to fight to hurt him, he just wanted to fight for the fun aspect of it. John knew that Bobby liked wrestling, he probably missed wrestling with his younger brother, and that's all this was to him.  
  
To Bobby, this was just going to be some fun roughhousing, not a battle of wills.  
  
John was almost disappointed. "I was born ready." He let the flame in his hand expand in size and length until it took on the shape of a serpent, wrapping around his torso and chest, the cobra's head of flame snapping at Bobby.  
  
John had not been able to have such precise control over his flames back at the school. He had only been able to stoke flames or snuff them out, create fireballs and the streamers back at Bobby's house. But this was precise, measured, frighteningly in control.  
  
Bobby gave John an impressed look. "Magneto's been teaching you."  
  
John nodded. "Yeah."  
  
"Well, Johnny, I've been getting some extra lessons too."  
  
The air around Bobby immediately began to plummet, until Bobby's entire body was coated with a thin-but rock hard- layer of ice. He now looked like a mobile ice sculpture. John backed up a step.  
  
"Whoa."  
  
"Yeah, scared the Hell out of me the first time, too. So, do you still want to do this or are you going to back down. I don't think your friends can take us, no matter whose kids they are."  
  
John looked over to the twins. He still didn't even have a concrete understanding of their powers, except for Pietro- who he assumed could teleport like that guy Kurt he remembered from on the jet. So far the only thing he knew that Wanda could do was flicker lights. Not the most effective powers to possess when facing the odds they were.  
  
This wasn't their fight, they probably just assumed that they were humans badmouthing Magneto; John worried that they could be hurt.  
  
Either reading his mind or just using that weird method all females seemed to have, Wanda brushed off his concern. "Do not worry, John. We can take care of ourselves."  
  
"Yeah, I'll say!" Pietro chimed in. He turned back to Jamie, who was not at all amused by the platinum-haired punk before him. "Come on, farm-boy! Show me how the Americans like to fight!"  
  
Jamie wasted no time in giving him a practical demonstration. John knew that Jamie was one of the best students in the combat skills elective course offered at Xavier's, and didn't want to watch Pietro get his ass kicked.  
  
At Pietro's insistence, Jamie began to throw some quick jabs and punches. His fists hit nothing but air, Pietro was bobbing and weaving out of the way.  
  
Pietro grabbed Jamie's wrist and sighed, "I am not impressed. Let ME show YOU."  
  
Quick as a whip, Pietro latched onto Jamie's arm and began to spin, dragging him along. He spun, faster and faster, before finally letting Jamie go. Pietro's adversary landed roughly and tumbled on the concrete several feet away.  
  
John couldn't help but wince; he knew how rough Pietro could be from personal experience.  
  
"Did you see that?! No one insults MY father and gets away with it!" Pietro crowed to his audience. So caught up in his boasting, he didn't notice Jamie getting up from where he had landed, or that he was multiplying himself.  
  
"Hey, Albino!" he called.  
  
Pietro whirled around to see that his foe had somehow become ten. "Now that's a challenge." He said, smiling dangerously.  
  
*^*^*^*^*^*^*  
  
"What are YOU laughing at, rock-star?" Wanda asked Jubilee, who was laughing at Pietro's newly complicated situation.  
  
Wanda's words were not mocking as Pietro's had been, but startlingly harsh. Wanda was nearly a head taller, she looked stronger, but none of that entered into Jubilee's head. She had learned a long time ago how to deal with people.  
  
Just a little 'spark-n-flash' and she'd have instant respect.  
  
Jubilee looked Wanda up and down slowly, "I was laughing at your outfit, Goth-queen! Haven't you ever heard of colors that aren't red or black?"  
  
Wanda threw back her hair, and flashed Jubilee her best bitch-smile. "At least I'm not stuck in the 80s." she remarked, meaning the yellow jacket Jubilee was known for wearing.  
  
"That does it!" Jubilee cried out. Threats to her life she could take, but NO ONE messed with the clothes!  
  
From her outstretched hands, blinding colorful light burst forth, right at Wanda.  
  
The red-clad girl covered her eyes in time to save herself from temporary blindness, but took the physical blow. The energy knocked her off her feet, leaving her flat on her back.  
  
Jubilee watched as the girl that claimed to be Magneto's daughter got up off the ground. Still on her guard, Jubilee waited for the girl to charge at her or something, but the girl stood there staring at her hands.  
  
'What is she doing?' she asked herself. She had been in plenty of fights before, but no one had ever ignored her in favor of their own hands before. 'Oh my God! Maybe I knocked her stupid!' Jubilee thought.  
  
"Hey, Goth! Are you awake or what?" she called.  
  
Wanda opened her eyes and turned to face Jubilee. "Thank you, rock-star."  
  
Jubilee's brows knitted. "For what?"  
  
Wanda's full lips twisted into a sneering smile. "For making me able to do this."  
  
Wanda's hands outstretched, mirroring the action Jubilee had made a moment before, and black energy burned through the buttery sunlight straight towards her.  
  
She tried to create more of her own fireworks, but found that the colorful energies would not meet their target. Rather than hit Wanda, they veered off in every other direction.  
  
"What the hell did you do to me?!" Jubilee screamed in frustration.  
  
Wanda's wicked smile never left her face, "Just tilting the odds a bit more into my favor, rock-star."  
  
*^*^*^*^*^*  
  
John was NOT going to let Bobby win this fight. Good-natured as the power fight was, John was not going to allow ice to become more powerful than fire. It was a law of nature that fire would forever melt ice, and that is exactly what John had done.  
  
Bobby gritted his teeth in concentration as he tried to fashion himself a shield like those used by medieval knights out of ice, but it was pointless.  
  
As soon as John understood what Bobby was trying to do, he aimed a streamer right for him. Bobby ducked, and tried to roll out of the way, but John had become too fast. The flaming ribbon twisted around Bobby's shield and melted it within seconds.  
  
So far, Bobby was out of breath, making it difficult for him to expend energy to make ice weapons. Panting, he asked John, "Think it's pretty funny, huh?"  
  
John smirked, "Yeah, a little."  
  
Bobby smirked back, and held out his hand.  
  
John couldn't see what Bobby was making, but figured it out soon enough. John's sneakers slipped and he fell on the ground. The very icy, very slippery ground.  
  
"Who's laughing now, Johnny?" Bobby asked.  
  
John smiled meanly. "I will be, just give me a second."  
  
Bobby started walking towards him, but stopped instantly when he felt it. John kept his gaze indifferent as he used his mind to direct the flaming hoop that was currently surrounding Bobby's waist.  
  
"Check it out, Bobby, it's a hula hoop of flame!" He cried in mock enthusiasm.  
  
Bobby stopped moving. The flaming hoop tightened somewhat; the icy armor at his waist was beginning to melt. If he was not careful, his skin would become exposed and he would find himself blistered and burnt from John's power.  
  
"Give up?" John asked as he walked a little closer, until he and Bobby were mere feet apart.  
  
"Um." Bobby hesitated.  
  
"Yeah?" John persisted, tightening the hoop just a tad.  
  
Chunks of his ice armor ice were slipping off of Bobby now; his arms, waist, upper legs, chest and back were exposed. The only icy parts of him left were below his knees and from his neck up.  
  
Bobby rolled his eyes, "Alright, fine. Uncle." He ground out.  
  
John smiled.  
  
*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*  
  
Anne Miller had lived in this neighborhood for most of her life. She had seen plenty of things happen within the complex, both good and bad.  
  
It was an ordinary day, actually started off better than most. It was warm but not too warm, a cool breeze made the day even more pleasant. Anne had even had plans to take her dog for a walk about the neighborhood, and when she reached for his leash, she stopped.  
  
Listened.  
  
Yes, there it was again.  
  
It was probably just some kids playing in the concrete area below her window, and normally she wouldn't have paid it any mind. She listened a little more closely.  
  
No, it didn't sound like playing. It sounded more like fighting. Concerned now, she went to the window.  
  
"Oh, my Lord!"  
  
There were kids all over the place down there! A bunch of identical young men seemed to be trying to jump another boy, who was too fast to be touched, two girls had lights coming out of their hands and they were cat- fighting too, and even more amazing was that two other boys were fighting with fire and ice.  
  
They were making the fire and ice with their hands!  
  
Anne had seen many things happen in her lifetime, both good and bad, but never so frighteningly strange before.  
  
She wasn't sure what to do exactly, but sometimes the oldest strategies worked best. She reached for her phone and dialed 911. 


	16. Jail Bird

Author's Note: Sorry about taking so long to update, but it was my birthday over the weekend, plus I have school and work to deal with. Anyway, doesn't absence make the heart grow fonder?  
  
*^*^^*^*  
  
The six mutants, sixteen if you counted Jamie's copies, were too wrapped up in their fight to notice the attention they had drawn. People were keeping a safe distance from them but still kept a vigil over them from the surrounding apartment windows or from various other places on the street.  
  
John had just upturned his lips to smile in triumph when he heard the sirens. Instantly, the spell of preoccupation was broken, and he realized what they were doing.  
  
His flaming 'hula hoop' vanished at his mental command, not that it would make his audience lose interest.  
  
Bobby willed away his icy armor and stood beside John in his human form.  
  
The twins, Wanda and Pietro, stopped attacking their own opponents, Jamie and Jubilee.  
  
For a moment, all was still as the mutants turned their ears to the familiar sound of police sirens.  
  
*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*  
  
Suffice it to say, John and the twins did not make it to the opening curtain of The Lion King.  
  
Wanda and Pietro had never seen anything on Broadway before; it was meant to be their first American play.  
  
However, because of their little squabble with the Xavier Institute students, they were able to experience something that most American teenagers went through: jail.  
  
It wasn't that they couldn't have easily escaped. A person watching could have blinked and Pietro could've made it to the other side of the city in that time. However, his companions were comparably sluggish at best.  
  
The Xavier Institute students had made a grave mistake by using their powers out in the open, and were not eager to make it worse.  
  
John would have happily attacked them with his flames as he had on the steps of Bobby's porch nearly a year before, but the police were prepared this time. They brought the fire department.  
  
So, in a manner out of character, John and the twins surrendered to themselves to the authorities.  
  
And that led them here.  
  
"Man, I can't believe they arrested us!" Pietro growled.  
  
"Don't tell me you're surprised, not after everything we did." John countered from the bench. Pietro kept pacing their cell.  
  
"Hey, I didn't know they were mutants. You're the one who said to meet at the playground!" Pietro snapped. "We could get deported for this!"  
  
"No you won't, you didn't give them your real names."  
  
"Will you guys shut up! You could be thinking of a way to escape, but instead you waste time arguing." Wanda said from her spot on the bench beside John.  
  
"Did I hear someone say escape?! No way, we're already going to be in enough trouble after all the damage we caused. It would be suicide to add a prison break to that!" cried Jamie from the cell opposite theirs.  
  
The police had at least been wise enough to separate the Brotherhood from the X-men trainees, no point in letting them start a riot in the same cell.  
  
"Oh, don't get all excited, Jamie! When the cops searched us, they confiscated my lighter. I could easily melt these bars, but unless one of you have a book of matches or something, our side is out of luck." John called out to his former classmate.  
  
"I'm afraid that won't be necessary, John."  
  
The six young mutants froze, whether as friend or foe, they all knew that voice.  
  
A policeman came forward with Magneto at his side.  
  
The older man peeked into the cell that held his children and John. "I leave you for a week and look what happens!"  
  
"Hey, it wasn't our fault! We were on our way to grab some lunch when Bobby showed up." John protested.  
  
"Oh, and I suppose he started the fight by himself? Tell me, Pyro, did he also scorch the pavement and set fire to the trees that grew on the perimeter of that playground where this all happened?" Magneto asked with a smirk.  
  
John was silent.  
  
"I thought so. Now, as for you, Wanda and Pietro, I cannot say that I'm surprised, just disappointed. Mystique, what would you say a fair punishment would be?"  
  
The policeman that had come in with him had long since transformed into the beautifully exotic mutant woman. Her teeth were bizarrely white against her dark blue skin. "I say we leave them in there till their sentence runs out."  
  
"What?! No way, you can't just leave us in here!"  
  
"Father, this isn't funny!"  
  
"Stop playing and get us out!"  
  
The group protested as one.  
  
Magneto rolled his eyes. "What am I going to do with you?" he asked them.  
  
The bars to their cell twisted and parted until a large enough opening had been formed. The twins and John quickly stepped out.  
  
"Thank you." John said.  
  
"Don't thank me yet, John. The twins will not be the only ones punished for their foolish conduct today." He paused as he looked in on the occupants of the other cell, "As for you three, I could not in good conscience just leave you here. When the real police officers regain consciousness, and find the other cell in the shape it is, they'll want answers. So let's make a deal."  
  
Bobby, being the oldest, stepped forward and acted as the spokesman for his group. "Yes, sir?" he asked, urging Magneto on.  
  
"I'll let you out, and destroy the records of your arrest. It will be as if this day never happened, if you deliver a message to Charles for me."  
  
Bobby stood still, mulling it over in his head.  
  
"This is a one-time offer, Mr. Drake. If you refuse, then I'll leave you here to explain to the police where their other mutant captives went."  
  
Bobby turned to Jubilee and Jamie, who nodded.  
  
"Alright, Mr. Lehnsherr, deal." Bobby stuck his hand out from between the bars, and shook Magneto's hand.  
  
Eric released him and then bent the bars apart.  
  
"What was the message?" asked Bobby.  
  
"Just tell Charles to meet me here, at this address," he handed Bobby an envelope, "where we can discuss the fate of one, John Allerdyce." 


	17. Pawns

Even before they met, when the only knowledge he had of him was the school's gossip, John knew that Eric was a man that one did not want to disappoint. Even without his powers, one irritated stare from him was enough to make John shudder.  
  
One time John had dropped one of the mysterious packages Eric had sent him out to get, and Eric froze his blood with a look. As far as John knew, that was the first time he had ever done anything to annoy him.  
  
He had been hoping not to make the same mistake twice, to prove to Eric and to himself that he wasn't the screw-up everyone at the school thought he was, but he had failed.  
  
"I understand that there were extenuating circumstances, I myself have been known to create a scene or two in public, but I thought that you would have at least tried to stay out of trouble while we were gone." Eric said once the three teenagers got inside the luxurious apartment.  
  
"Yeah, not thrilled about your house keeping skills either." Mystique hissed as she looked around.  
  
'Tis true, the teens trashed the house. Dirty clothes and dishes were all over the place.  
  
"Sorry." The kids murmured as one.  
  
"Yes, I would be sorry as well if I was in your place. You think you're sorry now? Just wait until I've thought up a suitable punishment! If you're wise-which I'm having doubts about- then you'll clean up this mess, from top to bottom, and then stay out of my sight until tomorrow." Eric growled at them.  
  
With that irritated command, Eric ascended the staircase that led to his bedroom with Mystique a few steps behind.  
  
"Don't you think you're being a little cold?" Mystique asked him once they were behind closed doors.  
  
Eric turned to her, "What are you talking about? After what they did, I'm being terribly fair."  
  
"Just fighting for your honor, as I understand it." She said, her eyebrows raising in the same way that Eric always raised his when he was trying to make a point.  
  
Eric sighed. "Well, I can hardly stay angry at them for much longer if that was the reason, but they still behaved foolishly."  
  
"I know."  
  
"Despite the stupidity of their actions, today's events did provide one benefit: I'll have a chance to meet with Charles and we can discuss this whole mess. John's fate is a delicate situation, and should be handled as such." Eric remarked, almost to himself.  
  
Mystique sat down on their bed and sighed, "If you say so."  
  
"What do you mean?"  
  
"I don't think that this is as big a deal as you make it out to be. John wants to stay, let him, and tell Xavier to forget about having him back. John made his choice when he got on that helicopter."  
  
Eric sat down behind her on the bed and started rubbing her shoulders as he thought about what she way saying.  
  
"Mmm, you're right, but something tells me that Charles doesn't see it that way. He wouldn't send in students to lure away one of mine if he didn't think there was a good reason that John would jump at the chance to return."  
  
Mystique's scales fluttered ever so slightly at Eric's attention. "Well, you have until tomorrow to find out what he thinks. Until then, enjoy today."  
  
Eric smiled at her.  
  
*^*^*^*^*  
  
John helped Pietro and Wanda clean the living room and kitchen before he went up to his room. What Eric said earlier had given him plenty to think about.  
  
'Tell Charles to meet me here, at this address, where we can discuss the fate of one John Allerdyce'  
  
God, he had even used his full name, that's never a good sign!  
  
He didn't think that Eric would send him back to Xavier's just because of what had happened at the playground, but he wouldn't rule it out as a possibility.  
  
John wondered what it was they had to talk about; John had made his decision over six months ago, why couldn't anyone just let him chill where he was? He felt fine here with Eric, Mystique, Wanda and Pietro. He wasn't related, but he was part of the family, more than he had been at Xavier's.  
  
He liked Wanda and Pietro; they were older than him, but great companions. No classes, no real restrictions, it was great, he didn't want to leave yet. if ever.  
  
However, that doesn't mean that Magneto felt the same way. Maybe one of the house rules John hadn't caught was, 'if you slip up, you're out of luck' and he'd be out the door.  
  
Magneto and Mystique were both pretty mad, had he just ruined the best thing that ever happened to him?  
  
*^*^*^*  
  
"John, wake up."  
  
John stirred, not having gotten much sleep the night before. His damn brain had kept him awake, constantly running words and events over and over in his mind. He tried to think up a plan for his future just in case Eric sent him off on his own, but came up empty.  
  
He had nowhere to go, he'd go from penthouse to poorhouse overnight.  
  
Crap.  
  
"John, get up!"  
  
"Huh, what?" John sat up. At this point it was not uncommon for someone to sneak into his bedroom and wake him up, but still very annoying.  
  
"Wanda. God, are Magneto or Mystique too busy to sneak around my room now?! What is it?" he asked, very pissed.  
  
Wanda didn't care; if he didn't want anyone to wake him up then he shouldn't sleep till noon everyday. She brushed a dark lock out of her eyes before speaking, "John, father is meeting a man today. They will talk about you and where you will stay. Father says to get ready now."  
  
John ran a hand through his hair, his sole attempt at grooming for the day. 'No point in using hair gel if I'm just gonna end up on the streets by tonight' he thought unhappily.  
  
"Fine, get out so I can change my clothes and I'll be down in a minute." He told her.  
  
Wanda smirked, "Yes sir! As you wish!"  
  
He rolled his eyes as she left and grabbed a sweatshirt and a pair of jeans.  
  
*^*^*^*^*^*  
  
Eric, Mystique, Wanda, Pietro and John filed out of the penthouse and into the elevator. From there, four of them took the limo, while Pietro chose to run.  
  
"I have no patience for New York's traffic, father. May I run?" he had asked.  
  
"Yes, but don't make a spectacle of yourself. People are already leery of mutants, I don't want anymore trouble from you." Was Eric's reply.  
  
Pietro was gone instantly, and Eric joined the rest of them in the car. The traffic that day was light by New York standards, and the limo met its destination a few minutes early.  
  
John wasn't jumping for joy at that, he hadn't said a word to anyone other than Wanda the whole day. He didn't know what was going down, and didn't know what to think, much less say.  
  
The limo stopped, and Eric got out, leading the way for the rest of them.  
  
Seemingly indifferent to the surrounding human population of Central Park, Eric headed straight for an area he had been many times in the past. A small area of the great park is dedicated to chess; concrete boards and benches were peppered about, and Eric headed for one in particular.  
  
Charles was there already; his punctuality being a defining characteristic of his. With a small gesture to the troops behind him, Eric made it clear that he and Charles meant to have this conversation alone and without interruption.  
  
"Hello Charles, it's so nice to see you again." Eric said in mock- pleasantry as he sat down across from his old friend.  
  
Charles looked up and gave a small, sad smile. The only smile he could give to Eric would be a sad one; the man had both helped and hurt him so many times over the years.  
  
"Good afternoon Eric, I'm glad you could make it. I see you've brought your family." Charles looked over Eric's shoulder at the twins, both now almost full adults.  
  
Eric smiled with a touch of fatherly pride as he assessed the board that Charles had taken the liberty of setting with pieces. "Yes, apparently they heard the news of my prison break and decided to pay me a visit."  
  
"They know about that?" Charles asked, a little surprised. He had always felt that, for whatever reason, being incarcerated was not something to brag about, especially to your own children!  
  
"Yes, how could they not? It was broadcasted all over the world. A person couldn't go for more than a day without seeing my picture on the international news. To tell the truth, I was a bit flattered." He joked as he moved a rook.  
  
"They don't know who put me in jail, mind you, so you might want to watch what you say. They get upset when people try to damage my 'good' name."  
  
Charles frowned as he moved a pawn, "Yes, as was displayed by the little squabble yesterday."  
  
"Oh, that. Let's chalk it up to hormones a peer pressure, you know the real reason we're here."  
  
Charles once again looked over Eric's shoulder and saw John standing beside a woman Charles assumed was Mystique in disguise, looking very uncomfortable and irritated.  
  
"For John." He said.  
  
"Yes, tell me Charles, why are you so intent on stealing from my side?"  
  
Charles's usually cool demeanor faltered slightly, "Me? You're the one who stole John from us! You assumed that we thought he had died in the flood that day, and would have let us go on believing it, Eric."  
  
"No need to get angry, Charles. You knew he was with me, you knew he hadn't died at Alkali Lake." Eric said, turning his attention away from the chess board at Charles's upset.  
  
Charles relaxed, but didn't let his voice lose its edge, "I fail to see how his being with you and yours is any better for him."  
  
Eric frowned. "That was a low blow, I'm not that bad, Charles. What did you think? That we kept the boy chained to a radiator and fed him table scraps every other day?"  
  
Charles shrugged.  
  
"Well. Given my actions at our last meeting, I suppose it would only be natural for you to assume something like that. No, Charles, we even gave him the chance to go back to you. He chose to stay with us, the 'bad guys'."  
  
*^*^*^*  
  
"Man, why are they taking so long?" John asked aloud.  
  
"Eric and Charles have a lot of history between them, John. They've known each other for decades; you've got to respect that." Mystique said as she sat down on a park bench.  
  
John sat down beside her as the twins went off in search of refreshments. "I don't get it." He said to her as he looked back to the two men at the chess board.  
  
"Get what?"  
  
"Them! Magneto and the Professor! How can they possibly stand the sight of each other after everything that's happened between them? I mean, correct me if I'm wrong, but didn't Magneto leave the Professor to die in the dam?" John asked.  
  
Mystique frowned, "No, he didn't. We didn't even know the dam was collapsing when we left him in there. Eric manipulated him into ridding the world of humans, sure, but we were confident that the X-men would get him out of there when he was done."  
  
"But still! The Professor doesn't even act mad about it!"  
  
"Trust me John, it wasn't the first time something like that had happened. If you only knew half the things they've done to each other, it'd make your head spin." Mystique laughed.  
  
John sighed, "Whatever."  
  
The day wore on for a couple hours more. Eric and Charles were still at the chess board, moving pieces back and forth. No one knew what they were talking about, their conversation could have been anyone's guess.  
  
The twins had acquired a soccer ball and were busy kicking it around, desperate to pass the time in one way or another. John had joined in their little game for awhile, but found he was too anxious to focus for long.  
  
"God, how much longer is this going to take?!" John grumbled in frustration.  
  
"It hasn't been that long at all John; really, you must learn some patience." Came Eric's sibilant voice from above him.  
  
John turned and stood to face Eric. The twins and Mystique had enough sense to back off and let them talk privately.  
  
"Magneto?"  
  
"Eric please."  
  
"Oh, um, Eric. So, what did you guys talk about?"  
  
Eric glanced behind him and looked after Charles's departing wheelchair, which was soon joined by a different teenage boy.  
  
Turning back to John, "Many things. Past times, present times and you, of course."  
  
"Oh yeah? What did you guys decide?" John no longer felt the need to be delicate, if Eric and the Professor had spent that much time talking all about him, he damn sure wanted to know what was said!  
  
"Well, it appears that by a stroke of luck, you will remain with us. A rather ingenious move if I say so myself." Eric smirked.  
  
John was relieved at the news that he was staying with them, but didn't understand what Eric meant. "What move?"  
  
"Hm? Oh, a chess move of course. Trapped his queen and conquered, my prize is you, so I pray you don't disappoint me." Eric said as he turned from John and started walking towards the twins.  
  
John let that comment process itself, "Hey, Eric, wait a second!" he ran up and blocked Eric's path. "You and the professor played for me?"  
  
Eric shrugged, "Yes. It seemed the best way. What would you have done? Have a massive power fight right here in the middle of a park? I'm sorry John, but not on such a nice day." Eric stepped around him and headed back to his family.  
  
John stood there, dumbstruck.  
  
"Strange, isn't it?"  
  
John turned to face none other than Bobby Drake. "What is?"  
  
"The Professor and Magneto. Very different, but they've managed to stay friends all these years."  
  
"Yeah." John said.  
  
Bobby hesitated for a second before saying, "Kinda gives me hope for the future, you know?"  
  
John knew exactly when Bobby meant. "I know Bobby." He held out his hand to be shaken.  
  
Bobby took it.  
  
"Hey, Bobby, cut it out!" John cried as Bobby iced it.  
  
"Some thins will never change." Bobby laughed.  
  
John shook off the frost and glared.  
  
Bobby thought that he may have gone a bit too far with that, but then John smiled and shook his head.  
  
Bobby looked over his shoulder, where the Professor and Rogue were waiting for him. "Well, I guess this is it, huh?"  
  
John hugged Bobby and gave him a pat on the back before they each went to their respective groups. 'For now, Iceman.' John thought to himself.  
  
They each knew that they would meet again, whether as friends as enemies, it was too soon to tell. 


End file.
